


Someone Like You

by sunshine83



Series: Someone Like You with Someone Like Me [1]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: Brio (Good Girls TV), Crimes & Criminals, Cunnilingus, Drive-by shootings, F/M, Murder, Organized Crime, Original Female Character - Freeform, Original Male Characters - Freeform, Porn, Porn With Plot, Porn with some plot, Riding, Slow Burn, Sorry!, mentions of child abuse, the kid has a happy ending I promise!, very very brief though and only in one section of a chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-04-13 19:08:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 45,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14118963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshine83/pseuds/sunshine83
Summary: "And he kissed me. I kissed him back. He pulled my panties down, and we screwed right on the kitchen table, on the breakfast dishes."





	1. Fantasy

**Author's Note:**

> Of course, the title and opening line is from episode 1.5. I just adore this ship. Couldn't help myself so I added to the (hopefully building) collection of fics for these two. I haven't written fan fiction in almost a decade, and even then I only wrote m/m, so I reeeeally hope you guys like this. I'm about as rusty as a twenty year old bike in the rain.

_And he kissed me. I kissed him back. He pulled my panties down, and we screwed right on the kitchen table, on the breakfast dishes._

She knew she should have been mortified by the words coming out of her mouth.  Should have been embarrassed by her body’s reaction to the fantasy she was narrating to Agent Turner.  As she went to stand, she could feel how wet she had become in just a few minutes.  She had pictured that fantasy over a dozen times and bringing words to it only made it even more potent for her.  She wasn’t going to mention to the agent how badly she wanted to climb on Rio’s lap when they were in her van together.  Every time Rio looked at her with that heated gaze she wanted him to look at all of her; every unclothed inch.

Beth drove home after her meeting, the fantasy still fresh in her mind.  She could still smell Rio’s cologne in her van.  Beth didn’t know if it was just his cologne that made that scent so intoxicating or simply because it came from him.  She knew that she needed more of it though.

The next day, after her kids and Dean had left for school and work, Beth made a phone call.  She hadn’t expected him to come as quickly as he did.

Rio must have sensed her surprise and simply said, “Was in the area.”

And how un-fucking-fair was that?  Four words.  All it took were four words in his deep, smooth voice and she already wanted him to take her.  Never had she felt like that before.  She meant it when she told Agent Turner that the idea of having sex with a stranger repulsed her.  And she wasn’t under any juvenile impression that Rio was _just different_ and that explained her feelings.  No, she knew how dangerous Rio was.  She knew that to him, this was business.  But that made her want to push her luck and see how far things would go.  See how much of her fantasy she could make a reality.

“I did it,” she said abruptly.

Rio raised a questioning eyebrow at her words.

“I- uh, I told the FBI agent how I knew you.  Told him why you were here.  That should be enough for now.”

At this Rio smiled, interest piqued.  Surely Mrs. Cleaver didn’t go for his suggestion.  “And? What story does the dear FBI believe?”

“That we fucked.” Beth’s voice managed not to give away how she felt about the idea of them having sex.

To Beth’s surprise, Rio made his way closer to her.  His slow steps made her feel like his prey, his eyes only leaving hers long enough to slowly trail down and back up her body.  He stopped just inches before her.

 

“And how did that story go?”, he asked.  “Was I good to you?” He couldn’t help but smirk.

Beth swallowed thickly and made her decision.  Now or never.

“I’ll show you.”

They were standing in her living room.  Beth pushed Rio down on her couch.  She wasn’t sure what she was expecting but she definitely wasn’t expecting him to go down so easily.  Beth didn’t know if it was because she took him by surprise or if Rio already knew where this was going.  He was cocky enough, it was certainly possible.

Beth climbed on top of Rio’s lean body making quick work of his belt.

“What will your dear old husband say if he comes home?”

Beth had a hard time focusing on his words as his hands snaked their way up her thighs beneath her satin robe.  The closer they got to where she needed them the more she needed him naked and inside of her.

“What?” She wasn’t even sure what he asked her.

Rio laughed quietly, “Your husband? Pasty white guy, used car salesman?”

“At work. And he’s not my husband anymore. I don’t care what a piece of paper says.”

Rio’s eyebrows shot up at that.  “Ooh, ouch. What’d he do?”

How he was able to ask her about her cheating husband and still trail his hands up her body she had no idea.  She managed to get his belt off, his pants unbuttoned and started tugging them off.

Getting the hint, Rio lifted his hips to help her remove them.  He was looking up at her, wondering how far she was going to go.  He wanted to feel her around him but was going to let her set the pace.  He liked seeing how much she wanted it.

Beth may not have mentioned it to Agent Turner but there was something else she had fantasized doing with Rio. She wanted to taste him.

Not announcing her plans, Beth pulled down Rio’s black briefs just enough to work his cock out from the top.  She couldn’t stop herself from smiling just a little when she saw how hard he already was.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned down and started sucking on the tip of Rio’s dick.  If it had been too long since she’s had plain intercourse with someone, it was even longer since she had given head to someone.  She was already taken aback by how much bigger Rio was than what she was used to.

She wrapped her lips fully around the head and started sucking lightly.  She was just about to take in more when she felt hands rest in her hair.  She was ready for Rio to be rough with her; she had braced herself for it.  But the force never came, just two hands resting on her head and fingers sliding through her hair.  She was emboldened by them all the same.  Without thinking she dug the tip of her tongue into his slit and started sucking harder.  She started squeezing with her right hand the part of his cock that wasn’t in her mouth.

This was a rush for her.  She’s sucked cock before but never for her pleasure.  Beth liked it this time.  She was so lost in trying to swallow as much of him as she could that she almost didn’t hear Rio above her.  He was moaning softly and when she looked up at him she saw how his breathing sped up.

“Yeah, ah- fuck,” he moaned.  As much as Beth wanted to keep going, that was enough for her. His moans sealed the deal.  She needed him inside of her.

She let go of his cock from her mouth and stood to remove her panties.  Somewhere along the way she lost her robe and was only left in a red bra.

Rio opened his eyes in time to see her slip a condom on him, straddle his hips again and sit on his cock.

“Ah, damn,” he hissed.

Beth smiled as she rocked her hips slowly.  “To be fair, this isn’t exactly what I told the FBI agent.”

Rio just grunted in reply, not expecting how tight she’d be.

“Yeah, in that lie I told him we were standing up in the kitchen and screwed over the kitchen table.”

Beth started to bounce, hips meeting hips in a quick pace.  It only took her a few seconds to get used to his girth and now she just needed to be filled.  She started unbuttoning his shirt as she slowly ground down on him.  She wasn’t surprised to see his muscled chest covered with tattoos.

Rio’s hands were on either side of Beth’s hips, guiding her movements at a steady pace.

“We wouldn’t want you to be a liar, now would we?”, came his raspy voice.  Beth could see his composure slipping the closer he got to cumming.

“Excuse me?” She was panting, feeling closer to the edge herself.  She rose up high enough that Rio’s cock almost slipped out before slamming herself down.

They both moaned loudly at that.  “I’m gonna have to bend you over the table now.”

She drug her hands over his abs and up his pecs, letting her nails scrape over his nipples.  She shifted her weight on his cock, feeling him go deeper as she leaned forward and sucked a nipple in her mouth.  She felt heady with power as Rio hissed and cursed in Spanish the harder she sucked.

The hands in Beth’s hair tugged her up until she had Rio’s tongue in her mouth.

The longer they kissed the rougher it got.  Up until now Rio hadn’t been as rough with her as she had expected but as soon as their lips met she felt as though he was dominating her.  All she could taste was him, feel his tongue trace the inside of her mouth so eager it left her breathless.

Needing air, she broke away from the kiss.  Beth sat up and started to ride him harder than before.  She was so closed to cumming she could feel it.

Hands on her hips tightened their gripped and she could feel the man beneath her thrust up sharply.  She let him control the pace, feeling her orgasm wash over her.

When she opened her eyes she saw Rio panting between her thighs, cock softened but still inside of her.  Beth leaned down and met him for another kiss.

Rio sucked her tongue in his mouth and groaned as she started to grind against his softening dick.

When their kiss broke, Beth climbed off of him and started to wrap her robe back around herself.  She could feel his eyes on her as she walked away to her bedroom.

She wasn’t hoping he’d follow her.  She didn’t know what she was hoping for.  To be honest, she hadn’t thought much about what would happen _after_ they had sex.  Maybe he’d just let himself out and they’d pretend that this never happened.  Wasn’t exactly what she wanted either but at least she had gotten it out of her system.  Although knowing what he felt like between her thighs just made her want him even more now.  She took a few deep breaths, waited long enough for Rio to get dressed and made her way back out to the living room.

When she walked in she saw Rio lounging on her couch like she hadn’t just ridden him into it.

Rio stood after she came in, adjusted his button up shirt, and walked towards her.  Even now he still had his smug smirk on his face.

He looked her up and down as he passed her to get to the front door.

“I’ve got things that need to be done today,” he said as he stood in front of her door.

He cleared his throat before turning back to her, same heated gaze that started this in the first place.

“But I’ll be back.”

Beth’s eyes widened just a fraction, “For?”

At this Rio just laughed like he knew something she didn’t and spoke again, “Still need to bend you over the kitchen table, right?”


	2. Money

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three weeks. Three weeks since the day she had sex with a violent criminal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't tell you how much I love you guys for reading and commenting! You guys are so stinkin' sweet and I love every bit of it. I decided to make this into a multi-chap story. I'm interested to see where their relationship goes and I really wanna make it grow. Hope you all enjoy!

_Three_ _weeks_ _._ _Three_ _weeks_ _since_ _the_ _day_ _she_ _had_ _sex_ _with_ _a_ _violent_ _criminal_ _._

The funny thing was, even though she knew how violent Rio could be, it didn’t stop her from wanting another round with him.  After all, he had promised a second round over her table.  After that it was all she could think about.

During the past three weeks, she and the girls saw Rio just once.  A brief meeting where he dropped off their cut of the money.  Few words were spoken, he met them at her house, dropped off the money, and left with no plan of when he’d return.  Beth found it mildly amusing that he sat in the same spot where she rode him into her couch.  Even though he didn’t say anything about when they last met, he still kept the same heated eye contact with her the whole time, brief as it was.

Beth had noticed one small change though.  Before, Rio would give them their cut in unmarked stacks.  Left it for them to divide the stacks between the three of them at random.  This time though, he handed hers directly to her and left the remaining two sitting on the coffee table, forgotten as soon as took his hand off them.  At the time it hadn’t occurred to her that this was any different than previous handoffs but she couldn’t shake how different the action was the longer she thought about it.

So Beth recounted it. It was much more than what she had expected.  Much more than any amount thus far.  The amount of dirty money he initially gave them was the same as the first round yet this payoff was much heftier.  By about 30%.

By the time she counted hers, Annie and Ruby had announced their number in unison.  Theirs matching, and much less than the figure she had counted.

Annie must have seen something on Beth’s face, “Beth? You okay?”

“Yeah, I- I just, um.  I think there might’ve been a mistake.  I guess he didn’t split it up evenly or something.  This stack has a lot more than the other two.”

Both Annie’s and Ruby’s eyebrows shot up at that.

“By how much?” Ruby asked.

So Beth told them.

“Dayum!”  Annie exclaimed.  “Now that’s _much_ better,” her sister said happily.

“But wait, Rio doesn’t make mistakes like that.” Ruby said, confused.

“I don’t know, maybe he just took out whatever percentage it came out to and just randomly divided it, I don’t know,” Annie started adding her stack with the rest of the girls and started dividing it into three.

While Beth was re-dividing and Annie was smiling, Ruby still had a pensive look on her face.  “Hmm, maybe.”

Beth didn’t tell them what she was thinking.  She agreed a hundred percent with Ruby.  Rio has never given them stacks of cash that weren’t exactly divided up to the dollar.  Beth had a feeling what caused such a large oversight and if she was right, she was not happy about it.

“Well whatever the case, gang friend is loosenin’ up those purse strings of his,” said Annie as she started playing with her nails.

* * *

 

After that day the girls hadn’t mentioned the difference in money.  They tried sticking to their routine as much as possible.

Though Beth couldn’t it let it go without some answers.

So she called him and agreed to meet him at the same place they had met before.

She was sitting in her van for about 25 minutes after the time they had agreed on.  She was never much for waiting on people outside of her family and the longer she waited, the more time she had to think about it.  More time it gave her to think about her theory the more pissed off she was getting.

She was so consumed in her thoughts that she hadn’t even realized her passenger door had opened and in climbed Rio.

“You know you really shouldn’t leave your car doors unlocked.  Some bad people could get in.”

The same smirk that Beth used to find attractive only served to piss her off even more.

“Funny,” she replied in a clipped tone.

Rio’s brows raised slightly, as if taken aback by her response.

“Mm, someone’s a little short today.  What? Husband won’t go down on you this morning?”

Beth could only roll her eyes, mood not lightening at all.  The last thing she needed right now was a reminder of her disgusting, soon-to-be ex-husband.

“I told you.  He’s not my husband anymore.  And you’re right, there’s a problem.”

The side of Rio’s mouth lifted slowly at her clear disgust of her husband.  He was glad to see it.  Pasty car salesman was beneath her anyways.  And not in the way Rio had been.

“Why are you smiling?” she had asked.  Logically she knew she shouldn’t be pushing her luck with Rio.  She was getting much too bold with him much too quickly.  Ordinarily she wouldn’t be doing this but she had questions and she was livid.

This only prompted Rio to laugh softly.  He swallowed before he spoke and damnit if Beth didn’t watch his Adam’s apple bob beneath his tattoos.  As angry as she was, she still wanted to taste his skin.

“Just thinkin’.  And what’s the problem?”

At this, Beth couldn’t contain herself anymore.

“I am not. A fucking. Prostitute.”

She thought it would come out as a scream.  Lord knows she had screamed that line to herself in her mind but this time it came out loud but controlled.  Her eyes were burning into the side of his head.  She watched him as he sat there next to her.  She watched as his gaze shifted from her to look at the floor of her van.  She didn’t know what she had expected from her outburst.  She knew it was fairly likely for him to pull a gun on her over how she was behaving.  She still had no misconceptions over the kind of relationship the two of them had.

It would surprise her to know that she’d never have to worry about another gun being pointed at her head again.  At least not at the command of Rio.

After about a minute of silence Rio finally looked back up at her, face as smooth and as calm as always.

“Who said you were?” His calm demeanor threw her off for a second.

“You did,” she hissed.  “By giving me a wad of cash much bigger than the other two.”

She paused just long enough to take a breath, “You handed it to me, Rio. You looked me dead in the eyes and handed me a very different stack than the other two.”

“And mine was much more than Annie’s and Ruby’s.  Whose, by the way, were the exact amount as the other’s.”

Beth hadn’t noticed how Rio remained calm and simply stared at her as she continued on.

“Every other time, they’ve always been even, and always given to us at random, no stack given to one distinct person.  And now, right after what you and I did, my cut was a lot more than theirs.  One that you handed to me directly.”

By the time she finished, she took in a deep inhale and looked over at him.

The side smirk she found didn’t surprise her at all.

“Remind me, what exactly did we do? I do work with so many-,” he paused to look down her upper body, pausing at her chest, and back up to her eyes, “different people, tends to blur together sometimes.”

She didn’t want to think about what he was implying.  And she damn sure didn’t want to examine how jealous it made her.

“You know what I’m talking about.  You and I fucked.  And immediately after that, you pay me off like some whore.”

At this Rio looked at her from the side of his eyes.  He stared for just a moment before speaking.  “You are not a whore.”

That was the most serious tone she’s ever heard from him that didn’t make her nervous.  Up until this point, at least today, he had seemed amused with her.  Until now.

He didn’t sound angry or annoyed, just resolute.

“It felt like it.”  Beth felt exhausted now.  She said what she had to say and now all of her anger seeped out of her all at once.  All she wanted to do now was go home, take a hot bath, and sleep for a month.

They both sat in her van in silence for a minute or two until she broke it.

“Why?”

Rio slowly looked back up at her and shrugged. “I know you need it.”

She scoffed.  “We all need it.  That’s why we’re doing this in the first place.”

Rio just made a dismissive face and turned to look out the window.  “Divorces can be expensive.  More money, faster it can be done.”

She was shocked.  All Beth could do with that was just blink.  She swallowed hard and thought about anything for a reply.  She couldn’t come up with anything.  Something in her told her that it was possible that that was just a cover up but she didn’t think it was.  She no longer felt as though it was just him paying her off for sex.  She didn’t know if it was entirely just about her divorce expenses either but she decided she wasn’t angry about it anymore.  She was surprised though.  Something changed between them.  Beth could sense a shift in their dynamic.  She was just at a loss of where that shift was leading to.

“We done here?”

His voice startled her back to reality.

Beth blinked again a few times and nodded, looking at her steering wheel.

Before he shut the door after him Beth spoke up, “They’ll be gone this weekend.”

Rio kept the door open at her words, “Hm?”  He asked, sounding bored.

“My kids and Dean.  They’re supposed to be going to stay with his parents this weekend.”

She said her final words as she looked back up at him, long lashes flickering his way.

Rio’s smile slowly raised on both sides as he let out a small laugh.  He simply nodded his head as he shut her car door.

Before Beth had a chance to pull away though, it opened again.

“You look good in red, by the way.  Oh and uh, keep these doors locked.  Don’t wanna let anyone else in, yeah?”

He said his final words with another smirk as he turned to get into his own car.

She watched him drive away as she sat there for a minute longer.  She took a deep breath and shook her head.

She was certainly not going to be treated and paid off like a prostitute.  But she had no problem with fucking like one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so much fun to write and I really hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading!


	3. Gun

The weekend finally came and Beth was staring at her bed. 

Four different lingerie sets.  Two black lacey ones, a white one, and a red one, all laying on her bed, taunting her.  The last time Beth had worn lingerie it was for Dean and his reaction to her couldn’t have made her feel more ridiculous.  It was during a period in their marriage where she could feel the lust for each other dying out and she tried hard to liven things back up.  So she got decked out in a sexy black ensemble with killer heels to match.  She felt beautiful and desirable and was eager to show her husband. 

On the night of her reveal, Dean looked her over just once, turned to lay on the bed, and said, “We’ll need to do it quick tonight, I’ve gotta be back at work early in the morning.”

It should have occurred to her then that he sounded more eager to get to work the next day than he was to get to work _on her_.  And now she knew why.  Her skin crawled knowing that she ever tried so hard for that man.  No.  Not a man.  He was a cheating, lying, sorry excuse of a husband.

Rio, however, he was definitely a man.  A dangerous one, yes, but a man so sexy and alluring that she was excited again to dress in lingerie.

Which brought Beth back to her current dilemma.  She didn’t want to spend so much time on this but she felt as though she had built up the anticipation for this night and she wanted to look and feel good.  She finally decided on mixing some of her pieces and she was left with lacey, black see-through thigh-high stockings, connected to her black and red panties with a black garter belt.  She topped it off with a black and red bra that left nothing to the imagination.

When she was finally done she cleaned off her bed and put on a sheer black robe, dark enough to hide what she was wearing.

She grabbed her phone and looked at the text she had sent the day after she and Rio last talked.  All she had written was, _Friday_.

She knew it was a little presumptuous of her to give him a day and expect him to come on her command.  But he seemed to be interested in her hint of her being alone over the weekend so she figured she’d give him a time.  If he wanted to come, good, and if not, at least she knew where they stood.

After Beth was finished she went back into her living room and was immediately startled by Rio’s quiet presence on her couch.

“Fucking hell, you scared me,” she said, almost breathless.

Rio turned to look at her and laughed to himself, “You said Friday.”

Beth’s eyes only got wider as she looked at him in stunned silence.

“Yeah, to come over, not break in and wait inside.”  Even as she said it she knew how ridiculous she sounded.  This was never a problem with any of the men she had been with previously but apparently for Rio, this was completely normal.

At this Rio simply smiled at her as he looked at her fully, eyes travelling slowly down her body.

“You want me to ring the doorbell next time?”, voice sounding both sarcastic and slightly teasing.

Beth just shook her head for a second and walked further into the living room, making sure the front door was locked.

Rio followed her movement and leaned back against her couch cushions, arms stretched on either side.

“Don’t worry, it’s locked,” he said lazily.

Beth turned to look at him with her brows raised, “You locked the door behind you?”

Rio couldn’t help but laugh harder at that.

“Never had to unlock it, your house has many ways of getting into it.  We’ll have to fix that.”

For one, Beth had no idea that her home was apparently easy-peasy to break into and two, she couldn’t let go of the _we_ in that sentence and how it made her feel warm inside.  Surely he just wanted to secure her home to prevent any of his money from being stolen.

“You a good shot?” Rio asked her suddenly, voice deep and calm.

Beth frowned at his odd question, “What?”

Rio looked at her again, this time in a way that made her feel like he was appraising her for something entirely unrelated to sex.

“A gun.  Have you ever shot one?”  He paused for a second and looked into her eyes, “Handled one?”  He managed to make that last question sound so dirty it could’ve come straight from a filthyhot porno.

“Mm, not exactly, no.”  She was at a total loss with where this was going.

She was perfectly fine cleaning money, like hell was she going to start wielding weapons for him too.

Her confusion must have shown on her face because Rio slowly smiled as he got up and started walking to her.

“Might be a good time to learn.  Never know when you might need one.”  He came closer to her as he looked down her neck, lips grazing her skin, “keep you safer and all that.”

At this point he was so close to her that she felt the rumble in his voice more than she could actually hear him.  Him being so close to her, lips nearly sliding up her neck, sent shivers down her body.

She was so lost in the warmth of his body that she wasn’t even focused on his words anymore.

When she felt cold air against her skin she looked down and realized he started to take off her robe and was looking at her body.  There it was.  The heat in his eyes that she was hoping for.  The heat that she had seen the first night they had sex.

His stare was only made that much hotter when he licked his slips and his jaw muscles started to twitch.

Her hips were soon burning from being held in his hot grip.  Rio guided her slowly towards her dining room table, helping her walk backwards until her back hit the edge.

They maintained eye contact while they moved across her kitchen.  He finally broke it as he started licking her neck with opened mouthed kisses.  Beth could feel herself moan as he applied pressure and started sucking over her pulse point. 

His warm mouth continued travelling south until he got to her breasts.  He was kissing all of her that wasn’t concealed by her bra.  When that wasn’t enough for him he managed to tug it off of her easily.

Beth’s head was thrown back as she felt his wet mouth latch onto her right nipple.  Somewhere in the middle of all of this she wound up sitting on her table, legs spread wide for his body to be standing between them.  Her hands found their way into his hair, pushing him closer to her breasts as he continued to suck at them.

When he made his way down her stomach he gently pushed her down so that she was laying on her table.  Eventually he guided her legs to rest over his shoulders as he started to mouth over her lace panties.  His mouth was so warm and wet that he quickly drenched her underwear.  After finally having enough, he pushed them to the side and delved his tongue inside of her.

It was so quick and sudden that she hadn’t prepared for the entrance of his tongue.  It had been much too long since she had been eaten and never had she ever been treated so thoroughly.  She felt wide open as he tongued her, going as deep as his tongue would allow.  She closed her eyes tightly as he started to swirl around her hole and plunge in and out rapidly.  Beth was just about to apply more pressure on his head where she had her hands until he switched gears and started sucking on her clit.

From there, she was a goner.  He flicked rapidly at her and continued to suckle her.  She could feel her orgasm coming the harder he worked her over.  She felt like a feast for him as he continued to eat her from every angle he could reach.  Her nails slid through his soft hair as her release met his tongue.  She was panting heavily and massaging his scalp as he kept licking her gently, cleaning out all of her come.

Her legs slumped on either side of his shoulders as he backed away slightly.  She looked down to see him licking his lips as he stared at her.

The sight had her distracted for a moment from the slow circles he was drawing on her thighs with his thumbs.  The movement was so soothing she felt as though she was going to fall asleep right there in her kitchen with her legs still spread.  Of course that might also have had something to do with the orgasm that ripped all of her energy from her, but still.  It felt good.

Rio watched her sleepy eyes before he asked, “How long is this house gonna be empty?”

His voice was just as calming as his steady movements on her thighs.

Beth slowly blinked up at him before stretching her neck from side to side.

“They’ll be back mid-Sunday.”  Her voice wasn’t quite as strong as normal but she was starting to shake her stupor.

Rio nodded his head once and helped move her legs from around his shoulders.

As Beth slid down from the table her hips were taken into Rio’s hands again.  He kissed her deeply for a brief moment before surprising her again.

“Then we have time to sleep before we fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this written for the last couple days but had some problems with my wifi. Hope you guys like it!


	4. Round Two

If she thought he was attractive already, the way he looked when he was sleeping was something else entirely. He did look younger, which only reminded her to ask him of his age soon, but he also looked more at ease and even more devastatingly handsome.

After they went to her bedroom they fell asleep for a few hours. Beth woke up a few hours later and couldn't resist watching Rio in his sleep. She only felt a little weird about it for the first five minutes until she remembered that this was a man who routinely welcomed himself into her house any time he felt like it. So she figured that bought her the right to look at him whenever she wanted to.

She was just about to get off of her bed when a tan hand reached for her knee.

"You don't want to stare at me for a little longer?"

She looked at Rio's smiling face. His question almost sounded like a parent's would to a child who had been caught stealing cookies before dinner; teasing and knowing.

"How long have you been awake?"

Rio stretched in her bed.

"Since you first got up. Could feel you moving. Wanted to know you'd be coming back."

Beth couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Why wouldn't I be coming back? Where would I go? This is my house." She had to admit, he made her smile.

Rio just watched her as she kept smiling at his question, a small smile on his own face.

"Never know. Could be hiding out til I left." He spoke as he shifted in bed, raising an arm and tucking it behind his head next to her. "Wanted to take the hint if there was one."

"Trust me, if I wanted you gone, you'd at least know it." Beth told herself that the only reason she started moving slightly closer to Rio was that she was cold and he was warm. That was all.

"That probably wouldn't have made a difference but you'd know anyways."

Beth noticed a deep frown on Rio's face after her last comment.

"You think I'd stay if you told me to leave?"

The sudden change in the room was very clear to Beth now.

"I mean, would you?"

"Beth if you didn't want to have sex, I wouldn't push it. If you wanted me out of your bed, I'd be gone. And if you wanted this to only be about business then I'd make that happen."

Rio didn't make to get off of her bed but he had started moving more, as if waiting on a sign telling him to leave.

Beth was more afraid of him leaving at this point than of any of her family members walking in on them.

"What _is_ this about?"

Rio stayed quiet for a moment, assessing her face.

"That's up to you." He must have seen something he liked because he re-settled back into her bed again, not looking the slightest like he wanted to leave.

He didn't miss Beth's sigh of relief either.

"I didn't mean to imply that you'd do anything I didn't want." Beth said this more to the room than anything else. Her voice a few decibels quieter than before.

Rio blinked once and smirked a little on one side, "And what do you want?"

He asked as he trailed his hand up her naked thigh.

Beth could appreciate his attempt at lightening the mood in the room. Although it showed her very clearly how he felt about her ever thinking that he'd do something to or with her that she wasn't okay with. And that was very sexy to her.

She was naked under the blanket that he was slowly pushing off of her to get more access to her naked skin.

"I believe you promised a round two?"

Beth could feel her skin form tiny goosebumps as the air hit her body.

She got lost in the sensation of Rio's warm naked body draping over hers in the next instance. She spread her legs to make more room for him until they were both curling around his hips, her pelvis meeting his.

She wasn't sure from where he pulled out a condom but it was quickly cover his hard cock before he slid inside of her.

Rio started kissing her neck and she could instantly feel a difference between their first time and now.

Now, now that they were in a bed, Rio was much more slow in his movements. It was still incredibly hot and felt amazing to Beth but he was much more controlled. He felt so solid between her thighs and inside of her. She could feel his arms straining on either side of her to keep him above her. Could feel his muscles bracketing her.

As he moved deeper inside of her and pulled back out she could feel warmth building in the pit of her stomach.

Beth wasn't sure if she had asked for it aloud and just couldn't remember or if she was just that obvious but Rio leant down and kissed her thoroughly.

They both moaned as Beth widened her hips even further and grabbed his ass with both hands, urging him deeper.

She loved the way he felt and his kiss sent then both over the edge.

Beth's hands moved up to Rio's hair as he stayed on top of her. She hated when Dean would just keep laying on her afterwards but with Rio she didn't mind it, she even liked it as her legs held him in place.

Rio must've noticed because he let out a low laugh.

"That fulfill my promise?"

Their bodies disconnected just long enough for him to roll off of her and lay next to her on the bed.

She rolled her head languidly to look at him as she smiled.

"It's a good start."

Rio's brows lifted. "You're gonna wear me out."

This made Beth roll her eyes.

"Oh please, you're young and energetic, I'm sure this is nothing to you."

She meant it as a joke. Meant it as a compliment to his stamina.

"Trust me, if this were nothin' we wouldn't be here right now." His head was leaning on her pillow as he looked at her.

His eyes slowly traced her face as he said slowly with a smirk on his lips, "Well," he paused, "you'd probably be here. With your husband."

He said this carefully, watching her face the entire time.

Beth wrinkled her nose at the mention of Dean. And this time, she reached far enough to grab a spare pillow and whack Rio in he shoulder with it. She figured, what the hell. They had already had sex with each other. He was in her bed. And this wasn't the first time he mentioned him. Rio deserved a hit with a pillow this time.

As he laughed she replied, "I have told you this. He is not. my. husband. We may still be legally married but he fucked everything else away when he was literally fucking his secretary."

Rio's face remained neutral except for a small shake of his head.

"Can't trust used car salesmen."

Beth loved that he could make her laugh about it now.

"Says the gang member."

He made a mock face of hurt and raised his hand to his chest, "I prefer business man," he said with a smile. "And, I am not a cheater. If I'm with you, I'm _with_ you."

Beth looked at him for a few seconds, suddenly thinking of something he said earlier that night. She wasn't exactly trying to change the subject but just talking about what they were doing and what it was possibly turning into made a lot of things run through her head. She wanted to think on his words and circle back to what he might have been implying after she thought about it.

"You think I should get a gun?"

Rio honestly hadn't thought she'd bring that up now but he was glad she mentioned it again. He was serious when he said she should learn to shoot. And shoot well.

"And learn how to use it."

Beth wanted to be indignant and ask how he knew that she didn't know how to use one but if she were being honest, she wasn't exactly an expert on them.

"You gonna teach me?" She said it almost as a dare.

"Wouldn't let anyone else do it."

She was surprised at how calm he looked yet the way he sounded made it clear that she was to be learning from him and him only.

"And when do you think I'd need to use this skill?" Her tone was growing amused. She felt more and more comfortable with him the longer she was in his presence.

A shadow of something crossed Rio's face for a moment then it was gone.

"With my men and I around you won't need to.

But I'd rather you know how anyways. You can protect yourself with it and I'd feel better when I'm not around."

Even though she figured that's why he brought it up, she was still surprised when he said it.

So she just nodded, "Teach all you want then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo, not sure how I feel about this one but I wanted to wrap up their weekend and this one kinda turned into a filler maybe? Hope ya liked it, let me know what ya think about where this is heading. I'm hoping to bring in more of the other girls soon. Maybe some drama, I can't resist some good ol drama.


	5. Threat

* * *

Beth's eyes had a hard time looking away from the computer screen. Any respect she still had left of Dean's intelligence disappeared as she found his search history sitting plainly on the screen.

_How to fake cancer_

_Why people fake cancer_

_Faking cancer_

She should've seen this coming. Of course he'd pull something like this. He was desperate and apparently faking cancer isn't too awful for him to do now.

She wanted him out of the house.

* * *

 

"We need to talk."  She said to Dean once he walked through the front door.

"You're damn right we need to talk." Dean had the nerve to act as if he were the one who deserved answers.

"Let's talk about the bags of money you suddenly have. Let's talk about what the hell has been going on under my roof, Beth. In front of my kids!"

A second of silence passed between them before Beth let out a loud laugh. Was he fucking for real?

"Excuse me?" She tried not to let him rile her but this was ridiculous.

"This is no longer your house. So what I do under _my_ roof is none of your business. I could bring in an entire football team under this roof, fuck everyone of them, and it'd be none of your damn business. Because you no longer live here. And your kids that you seem to suddenly care so much about are also _my_ kids. And my kids will be living under _my_ roof with me. And you will be lucky to have any kind of relationship with them. And it'll be on mine and their terms, not yours."

Beth was fuming but she was running high on her fumes. She felt relieved to yell at his lying face.

"You would do this to someone with cancer? I am dying, Beth. I have a disease inside of me that is literally killing me and this is how you treat me? The father of your children?"

His crumpled face straightened into a look of a surprise as he watched her clap her hands slowly.

"Impressive performance." She folded her arms and continued, "Really, you deserve an Oscar. You don't have cancer. You're an idiot who doesn't clear his search history. And the only disease you have in your body is probably the one you've contracted from whoring yourself out to the first person desperate enough to sleep with someone as foul as you."

Beth needed to keep her hands busy before she wrapped them around Dean's neck. So she started working on dinner for her and the kids.

"You need to pack your things and get the hell out of my house." She looked back up at Dean. "I'm serious. You no longer live here. I'm going through with the divorce and it couldn't happen fast enough. I don't care where you go. Go to your parents' place. Get an apartment. Live under a bridge, or in your car, just as long as it is nowhere near this house."

"And what were to happen if I go to that FBI agent and tell him what I know? Hmm? Tell him the truth about the car, about all of the money you suddenly have, the crime you committed with that criminal. I'm sure you've done some other things that you wouldn't want him to know of. What makes you think that I won't tell him everything now that I don't live in _your_ house with _your_ kids?"

Beth was glad that she hadn't started cutting the vegetables yet because she couldn't guarantee that the knife wouldn't be lodged into his face right about now. She approached him slowly, eyes burning.

"You're threatening me?"

As if he couldn't look any more smug.

"I'm just asking you a question. Think about what you're doing before you kick me out. Me bailing you out with him is the only reason he's not pursuing you harder right now. If I had a change of heart you could be in a hell of a lot of trouble Beth. I don't want that to happen. Not to my wife and not to the mother of my children."

"Your wife?"

"Oh yeah, that's right. We're not getting a divorce now. We're going to stay married to each other, stay living in this house together, raising _our_ kids. Divorce is off."

She watched him as he walked away from the kitchen and up the stairs. She wondered how hard it'd be to throw a knife at a moving target.

* * *

 

"He said what now?" Annie's angry voice said on Beth's phone.

Beth was sitting in her living room on and the phone with her sister. Her house was thankfully empty at the time and she needed to vent to someone.

"Yeah. He's threatening me. He thinks he knows enough to get his way. Or else he'll tell everything he _does_ know if I don't do what he wants."

"Who's threatening you?"

Rio's voice came from behind her.

Beth wasn't as surprised as she used to be whenever Rio suddenly appeared in her house but she was a little more on edge than normal after Dean's threat.

"Annie, I've got to go. I think the cookies are burning."

"Ooh, cookies? I want some. You can just scrape the bottoms, they'll be fine."

"Uh yeah, I'll um, bring them to you later, I gotta go." She hung up the phone and stood up.

Rio had a questioning look on his face as he asked again, coming closer to her.

"Who is threatening you?" This time it came out slower, darker.

Beth sighed, not sure how she wanted this to go. She knew Rio had a different way of handling things than she did. The last thing she needed right now was Dean disappearing and raising even more questions and heat from the FBI. Even though she'd fantasizes about it she was still smart enough to know the repercussions. She also knew that if Rio thought someone was going to make waves for him and his business that he would handle it as he saw fit.

"No one. He's just bluffing. That's all."

This didn't seem to have the effect she was hoping for. Rio only seemed to get angrier.

"You're lying. It's your husband isn't it."

His question doesn't come out as such, more of a statement. He waits for her reaction.

She gives it to him by the subtle shift in her eyes, the unsure look on her face.

Rio nods his head minutely and turns to leave.

"Wait! Wait."

She reaches for his hand to stop him from leaving.

"Look. He's just doing whatever he can to stay here. This is just his new way of keeping us from getting a divorce and him moving out. The lying bastard tried cancer and when that didn't work, he went to plan B. He doesn't know what I've been doing and he doesn't know about what we've been doing for you."

Rio watched and listened to her, face unreadable. He no longer seemed angry though.

"He told you he'd rat you out if he didn't live here and stay married to you."

Beth still had her hand in his and she tightened her grip, gently pulling him closer to her, trying to stop him from leaving. God only knew what he'd do.

"Basically, yes."

Rio stayed quiet as he lead them to her couch. He let go of her hand to stretch out before laying it on her thigh.

"What does he know?"

"He knows that I stole the vehicle from his lot and that I sank it in the river."

Rio's gaze held hers. "What else?"

"He thinks that I smuggled something for you. That that's how I've made the money we needed. That's all he knows. But he doesn't know your name and he doesn't know exactly what me and the girls are doing. He has no idea of the extent of things."

"He know about you and me?"

Beth blinked a few times, "He, he doesn't know anything about you other than you were some random street gang that 'took advantage of me' and got me to smuggle something for cash."

Rio's jaw ticked as his brows furrowed. "Took advantage of you?"

"Obviously that's not what happened." She explained hurriedly. "He just thinks that. That I was naive and that's how all this got started. He's a dick. I'm aware of this."

"And he wants you?"

"What?" Beth was thrown by the change in questions.

"He wants in your bed? To fuck you like the good little housewife he wants you to be?"

"Could you not talk like that, please?" She couldn't help but be irritated by that phrase. She was tired of that role and sick of ever being seen that way.

Rio's face relaxed at that. "But it's true though?" His hand hadn't moved any further than just tracing circles on her inner thigh but the pressure was changing, becoming more of a massage that felt better than it had any right to be.

"He knows too much. And he's trying to blackmail you to get what he wants."

With one last squeeze Rio stands up and makes his way to her door.

"I don't think he'll follow through. He's being a dick and saying what he thinks will work. This won't affect you and your business, I promise."

Rio laughed as he stood in front of her door. "Oh I'm not worried about that," he says calmly.

"Can't have him messin with you though."

He opens the door and walks out. Beth's still standing in the middle of her living room.

"What the hell just happened?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, what'd ya think?


	6. Corkscrew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one's a bit short but I wanted to include this part by itself. Hope you enjoy!

Rio pulled into one of the warehouses he used for business and anything else he needed to take care of. It was in a good location, isolated, no cars around.

The sun was setting leaving the sky darker with every passing minute.

He got out of his black car and walked inside. He nodded to one of his men he passed by.

Rio slowly walked up to the figure he saw standing in the middle of the room.

Every time he saw Dean he wondered how in the hell he wound up with Beth. And what the fuck he thought he was doing fucking her over the way he has.

Dean was standing with his back against a pole, his hands tied behind him and his mouth gagged.

He wasn't making much noise, a few whimpers here and there. Rio looked at Dean fully and nodded to one of his men.

"Hello Dean."

At the mention of his name Dean finally looked up and his eyes went wide. He immediately recognized this man. He couldn't speak because of his mouth being gagged, he just screeched higher and higher.

"Yeah you can knock that off now. We're just gonna talk."

Rio sat down in a chair in front of Dean. His promise of just a talk was thrown out the window as a rolling table was slid in front of him.

Dean strained to see its contents. He nearly passed out when he saw all of the shiny metal tools. Various things like scalpels, scissors, blades, and one horrifying thing that looked like it could spread something over two feet wide. He nearly wet himself when he noticed a sharp looking metal instrument that looked like a huge twisting cork screw.

Rio stared at Dean, not making a move for the things in front of him.

"We're just gonna talk. These are here in case we get bored."

Rio stood and walked closer to Dean.

"I suggest you forget whatever you _think_ you know. Anyone ever tell you it's not gentlemanly to blackmail a lady? Hm?"

Dean was visibly sweating. He looked more and more nervous as Rio pushed his table closer to Dean.

"See, just because we have the power to do something, doesn't mean we should do it."

He started picking up different things.

"Like now. I have the power to use these blades and slice their way down your body. Now should I do that?"

Dean frantically shook his head.

Rio smirked at him as he picked up the giant corkscrew looking thing.

"You know what this can do?"

Dean just gulped in reply.

"This is pretty sharp, it can twist something as much as it wants to. Probably wouldn't feel too good. Now, I have the power to use this on you. Should I?"

Rio looked away from the smaller tool in his hand to the bigger tool in front of him.

He raised his eyebrows, "Answer me."

Dean shook his rapidly.

"What's funny though, is you seemed to think you should have blackmailed your wife. Use information that you think you have to get your way. That's not a very manly thing to do."

He looked at one of his men to his left, "Is it?"

The biggest one just shook his head, his shirt moving just enough to show the gun he was carrying.

Rio picked up the spreader and examined it.

"And this, should be able to spread something pretty wide. Can fit into a lot of small places and just,"

He did something to it that made it rapidly expand almost as fast as a bullet.

"Spread wide open."

Dean's eyes just kept looking at it, his face frozen in fear.

"I'm gonna tell you what you should do next. If it doesn't get done, we'll use these things, and more, and see if that works better."

Rio sat back down in front of Dean again.

"You're gonna move out of Beth's house. You will sign anything she wants you to. And you'll never mention any of what you think you know to anyone. No cops. No FBI agents. Not even your grandma."

Rio paused and looked into Dean's eyes. He raised an eyebrow when he didn't get a response from him.

Dean started nodding his head yes.

Rio leaned close to Dean's ear.

"And if you don't do just one of the things I just said, you probably won't walk out of here the next time."

His voice dropped, "Guns have the power to do that to people. Strong men can do that too. You curious to know which one will do that to you?"

Dean still couldn't talk. He wouldn't have been able to anyway, so he just relied on shaking his head like a nervous dog's tail.

"You don't mention this to anybody. Not even Beth."

Rio walked further away from Dean.

"I would love to see what these things have the power to do to you. Behave how you're supposed to, and we won't found out."

With those words he started walking towards the exit. Leaving Dean tied and gagged.


	7. Range

The next morning Beth woke in her bed and startled when she saw Dean in her doorway. She quickly brought up her comforter, "Damnit Dean, what are you doing lurking around like that?"

Dean didn't move inside the bedroom, just stayed there standing in the doorframe. He swallowed thickly before he spoke quietly.

"Look I'll, um, I'll sign the divorce papers. I've decided, you know, you're right. Our marriage is over. I ruined that. You deserve this house without me in it. Anything you want and it's done. I just, I just ask that I can still see our kids. That's all. It can be on your terms. I've already talked it out with my folks and I'm gonna stay with them for a while until I can get on my feet. Find a cheap place somewhere."

Beth sat up in her bed stunned. At first she was surprised at the sudden change of things but then she took a closer look at Dean. Her brows furrowed closer and she frowned.

"Why the change of heart? Two days ago you were threatening me. You wanted to stay here and like hell were you gonna agree to a divorce. You were all prepared to throw me under the bus. What's changed?"

Dean took a half step inside before he stepped back a pace.

"That won't happen. I'm sorry I ever said that to you. I was never going to go through with it. I was just desperate, that's all. You don't have to worry about me telling anyone anything. As far as we're concerned, I don't know anything and what I told the FBI is the truth. Nothing more. The only thing that anyone needs to know is that I fucked up, I'm the one that cheated, I fucked us financially, and our marriage is over. I'm moving out and you can move on wth your life. That's it."

Beth read Dean's face closely. He didn't seem like he was lying to her. In fact, he seemed almost desperate to be done with this conversation. She just didn't know why. She hated that she had to trust that he wouldn't go back on his word but she had a gut feeling that he meant what he said and things would be over after this.

"Okay."

After that, Dean nodded his head once and turned around.

After Beth got dressed and went downstairs, she saw his bags packed up, sitting on the living room floor.

"Have you talked to the kids?" She asked him as he leant down to grab a bag.

"They know that I'm staying at their grandparents' house for a while until I find a more permanent place. I told them that we both love them but that we'll be seeing them and raising them from two different houses. They were about as upset as the first time but I think they'll be okay."

Dean took ahold of his things and walked out to his car. Beth stayed inside and watched him load it all up. She still couldn't help but wonder what the hell happened that made him change his mind so suddenly.

Dean came back in to give his house key to her so she asked him again.

"You never told me why though."

Dean looked up at her, surprised.

"What?"

"I asked you why you suddenly changed your mind about this. What happened?"

Dean looked down at his feet as they shuffled for a second, when he looked up he didn't meet her eyes.

"I realized that what I did was wrong. Both things. Everything. The cheating, lying, and- and blackmailing you. I never should have done that. And I'm sorry."

"Uh-huh." Beth just kept staring at Dean, her eyes narrowed.

Dean just dropped his key on the kitchen counter, "Let me know what you need me to do to finalize the divorce."

With that he turned to leave the house. __

* * *

 

"Fucking finally." Annie said as she ate from her bag of cheetos.

Her, Beth, and Ruby were all sitting on her couch, counting money.

"And just like that? He's leaving you alone now? Moved out and agreeing with the divorce?"

Ruby asked after she put the bills down.

Beth continued counting, "I know. I was as surprised as you are.

"And no more threats? The weasel's not gonna rat us out?" Annie asked.

Ruby looked up at that, "What threats?"

Beth sighed and sat back against her couch.

"Before today, Dean decided he didn't want a divorce. He told me that he wasn't moving out and we weren't getting a divorce. He said he'd go to the FBI and tell them everything he knows if he didn't get what he wanted."

"That little ass hole." Ruby deadpanned.

"Right!?" Exclaimed Annie.

"Look. For some reason he changed his mind and said he wasn't going to go through with it. That he never was. Apparently that was just his last attempt to stop the divorce. But now, for whatever reason, he's agreed to go through with it. He packed all of his things. Gave me his key. He's staying at his parents' place until he finds another one."

"Mm." Was all Ruby said before she took a sip of her wine.

Beth heaved another sigh and looked down at the money.

* * *

 

It was in the evening and Beth was busy shopping when she saw a hooded man staring at her, sitting at the food court. Luckily her cart was still empty so she left it some place out of the way and approached him.

She couldn't help but smile when she saw that Rio was eating a cinnamon pretzel.

  
He must've noticed because he said with all the confidence in the world, "They're delicious." And continued eating with newfound gusto.

Beth just smiled and sat across from him. "What's up?"

He took a few seconds to swallow his food before replied, "We're going somewhere."

Beth couldn't tell if he had meant him and his men or him and her. So she looked around them and noted that none of his men were near them. At least not in plain sight.

"We are?" She was a little surprised at his announcement.

Rio took a drink from his cup and grabbed his trash before standing up.

"Let's go."

She had no idea where they were going or why but she was so damn curious she didn't want to tell him no.

Rio led her to his sleek black car and unlocked the doors for them. His car was very comfortable. It didn't stand out like a typical sports car but still felt like an expensive luxury car.

"Where are we going?" Beth asked as she put her seatbelt on.

"You'll see."

And just like that Rio was pulling out of the parking lot.

They drove for a little while before Rio broke the silence.

"You look good today."

Beth looked over and saw Rio staring at the road in front of them. She took the time to fully take in his appearance.

Damn if this man wasn't sexy as hell. He could pull off dark washed jeans, a black hoodie and a dark gray button up like fucking Bond in a tux. This made Beth wonder for a moment how he'd look in a suit. Probably sexier than he had any right to be.

She was snapped out of her reverie when Rio looked over at her with a half smile.

"Thanks. You do too."

He liked the way she looked at him like that, the way she was appraising his looks. Rio could tell what she was thinking and kept on smiling.

"So uh, how long's this drive gonna be?"

Rio chuckled softly before pulling into what seemed like an abandoned warehouse. There weren't any cars nearby, no lights on anywhere, and they were pretty isolated.

"Uh, Rio?" Beth asked as she slowly got out of her car. Growing more and more unsure of what was going on. She wasn't afraid or anything like that. She knew he wouldn't hurt her but the way this place looked, she had no idea why he'd bring her here. Plus it was getting darker and that only served to make it look that much creepier.

Rio said nothing and simply led her inside.

They walked into a smaller, yet still spacious, area that looked to be heavily padded with three different stalls. At the end of each stall was a long, narrow walk way that led to a wall.

"What's this?" Beth asked as she walked closer to where Rio stood.

"This," he paused as he put two different hand-sized guns on a table and a box of bullets next to them. "Is the first day of you learning how to shoot."

And just like that she remember their conversation in her bedroom. He wanted her to know how to _handle_ a gun in case she ever needed to.

Beth watched as Rio placed a pair of ear protectors on the table as well.

"You ready to start?" His smile was beautiful. It made his eyes light up and she could tell he was actually excited to show her how to shoot a gun and hit a target.

"You're pretty excited about this, huh?" She didn't want to get too distracted but he was making her want to handle something that definitely wasn't a gun.

Rio turned his attention to one of the two guns, his finger tracing the shape of the bigger one. "My father was the one who taught me how to shoot my first gun."

Beth saw Rio's face as he kept looking at the gun he was touching. He didn't appear sad, just pensive. This part of him was new to her. Before now, Rio hadn't talked about his family at all. Or anything else personal about himself.

"He was passionate about it. Knew a lot about em. He wanted me to know just as much so that I'd know how to defend myself with em."

Rio finally looked at her and removed his hand from it. His smirk back on his face as normal.

"So that's what we're doin today. Gonna be an expert before ya know it."

He started by showing her the different parts of each gun. Taught her how to load a gun, how to switch the safety on and off, and her favorite part so far, the stance.

"Alright. So you're gonna want to stay relaxed." Rio said from behind her, his hands guiding how she should hold her arms and how she should stand.

He finally rested his hands on either side of her hands and showed her how to hold the gun.

"You don't want to hold on to it too tight but you want a firm grip. You want your arms steady with your shoulders relaxed. And when you've settled on your aim, you wanna squeeze the trigger with a smooth follow-through. Once you've squeezed it, don't move your arms. Let the bullet fly with your hands and arms still in place. That's your follow-through."

Beth listened to what he had to say but damned if it wasn't hard to do with his body held flush to her own. She could feel his hard pecs against her back and his biceps circling her arms. His heat alone was enough to make her want to melt into him.

"Give it a try." He commanded. His voice was soft in her ear yet firm enough to pull her back to what they were doing.

He gently slipped a pair of ear protectors on her and gave her the go-ahead.

She took his words to heart and squeezed the trigger. Their target was a basic, solid black print out used in typical gun ranges. But with they way Rio felt behind her, none of this was typical. And Beth couldn't be happier.

He signaled for her to do it again. And again. And again.

Rio finally removed her ear muffs.

"Very good."

Rio took the gun out of her hands and placed it on the ledge in front of them. Beth turned her head just enough to see how close Rio's face was to hers. She closed the distance with a soft kiss on his lips.

"Thank you."

They kissed a few more times before Rio sucked her tongue hard for a second and let her go.

"Alright," he said as he patted her hip, "Back to it."


	8. Invitation

After Rio called it a night on Beth's gun training, they climbed back in his car to drop her off at her van.

They sat in silence as Rio drove down the dark roads. Beth caught herself staring at his hands as his fingers curled around the steering wheel. She always thought he had pretty sexy hands, just like everything else on him. But tonight made her realize that not only was she interested in Rio's looks, she wanted to know him more. She liked it when he spoke about his father and she wanted to know more about Rio. What she knew of so far she really liked.

"You busy tonight?" She asked, looking at Rio's profile as it was lit up by the streetlights. She knew it sounded cliche but she wanted to cook something for them since her kids were at Dean's. Beth hoped the time would give her a chance to ask Rio more about himself.

She was met with silence for a moment before he spoke.

"Yeah," was all he said.

Beth blinked twice. "Oh."

Of course, Rio was still a gangbanger, probably busy with many business ventures. _Nightly_ business ventures. She wondered what his normal hours were anyway.

The silence stretched and Rio lulled his head towards her for a second, lips in a half smirk/half smile.

"But I'm free tomorrow night."

"My kids are coming back home tomorrow."

"Where are they now?"

"They're at Dean's. Well, his parents' house. Where he's staying."

Rio nodded his head once before clearing his throat. "How's that goin'?"

"What do you mean?"

Rio turned down on the street where her van was parked.

"Car salesman still givin' you a hard time?"

Beth was reminded of how cooperative Dean was being lately.

"You know, it's strange. Right after he gave me all that grief about it, he suddenly changed his mind."

"Oh?" Not looking at her, instead just watching the road.

"Yeah. I woke up and he was in my room and-"

"He was what?" This got him to look at her.

Beth's brows raised slightly at Rio's sudden question.

"Well when I woke up I found him staring at me in my doorway. He was there to tell me that he supported the divorce, that he was moving out and into his parents' place, and that he was sorry for threatening me. He said he wouldn't mention a word about anything to anyone."

She said that last part slowly at Rio, emphasizing that Dean wouldn't be a problem for Rio or his business.

"He do anything else?"

"Like what?"

Rio took his eyes off the road long enough to scan her face for anything telling.

"Nothin'. Good."

"I know. I don't know what-", she cut herself off. Beth turned to look at Rio.

"Do you know why he suddenly changed his mind?"

Rio parked his car next to Beth's van in the parking lot. He took off his seatbelt and got comfortable before he reached over and undid Beth's.

"Nope." He sat there, just staring at her with warm eyes and a half smile.

"Rio."

The only response she got was Rio's steady stare.

And just like that, they were having a staring match. She was glad he unbuckled her seatbelt for her so all she had to do was turn slightly in her seat and keep eye contact.

Rio stayed as cool as a cucumber, his half smile never wavering.

Beth just sighed. Any other time and she'd push for details in that moment but she was hungry, tired, and still a little distracted from what Rio had planned to do after she got out of his car.

"Any evidence?" Was all she asked.

Rio laughed at that, his smile growing more fond.

"Not a shred."

"All right. But I expect you to tell me eventually." In case she needed to use similar silence tactics for a certain _secret shopper_.

Rio didn't answer, just leaned over the console and kissed her once.

"Get home safe," he whispered against her lips.

Fuck it.

"So um, anything exciting tonight?"

Beth waited to ask him until after he sat back in his seat.

"Not really." He looked at her again, her curiosity written all over her face.

"You wanna come with me?"

Now this surprised her. Whatever she thought he may have had planned tonight definitely wouldn't have involved bringing her along unless he was about to propose some kind of a three-way. Because yes. That's where her brain went the first time he said he had plans later. Cheating husband'll do that to you and her and Rio hadn't exactly talked about whether or not she was the only person he was seeing. She remembered him saying that he wasn't a cheater and all that, that if we was with someone, he was _with_ them. But they hadn't talked about it since and never said exactly what they were doing. She honestly had no idea where they stood in their changing relationship.

She smiled at him. "Where would we be going?"

"Buckle up and you'll see." He said as he did up his own seatbelt.

He looked over at her and waited. It only took her a second before she sat back and fastened her seatbelt.

As they made it back to the main highway Rio started messing with his radio until Spanish music filled the car.

"You nervous?" Rio asked through his smirk.

She played along. "Should I be?"

Rio just shrugged his shoulder. "Maybe."

His smile reflected brightly by the streetlights and Beth was maybe a little nervous. Just a smidge.

But like hell was she gonna admit that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a filler but I wanted to bring in some of these things like a deeper look into their relationship, her asking about Dean, etc. I'm excited about where they're going. It's not written yet, (totally just making this up as I go), but I know where they're off to so I hope you guys like it.


	9. Rosa

When Rio finally stopped the car and parked, Beth took in the house in front of them. It was a beautiful one story house with a wrap around porch, pretty, colorful flowers around the yard, and a paved walkway to the porch and front door. It looked charming and well-loved.

Beth turned to look at Rio and saw that he was already opening his door and getting out. She followed suit before asking, "Is this your house?"

Her question came out slow and unsure. While it was certainly a lovely home, it definitely didn't seem like something that Rio would live in.

Rio made a soft humorous noise and shook his head.

"Nah."

Beth followed Rio as he walked up to the front door and stepped inside. She passed a comfortable looking wooden porch swing with deep red pillows facing the yard. The home couldn't have been any cuter and it made Beth even more curious to know whose it was.

When she walked in she was instantly met with delicious smells from something cooking in the kitchen.

The inside was just as beautiful as the outside. Beth and Rio barely made it inside before an older woman appeared from somewhere in the house.

"¡Hola mijo!" She said as she wrapped Rio in a warm hug.

"Abuela, remember, you gotta keep the doors locked, okay?"

Rio said softly while he returned the woman's hug. Beth watched their exchange, Rio held the woman for a few seconds as she squeezed him tightly, big smile on her face.

"Oh bebé, you always worry. Those sweet boys of yours come so often I'd spend most of my time locking and unlocking my doors between their visits."

Rio looked somewhat defeated and fond at his grandma.

"And who is this?" The woman asked as she looked at Beth before looking back at Rio.

Before Beth could answer, Rio did it for her.

"This is Beth. Beth, meet my grandmother, Rosa."

Just as Beth was going to say hello, Rosa scooped her up into a hug just as big as the one she had just given Rio.

"Hola Beth, it's so nice to meet you."

"You too, ma'am." She said as they broke apart.

"Ma'am?" Rosa asked. "Oh none of that, please, call me Rosa. Come, come. I just finished dinner and there's plenty for all of us."

Rosa left them standing in the living room as she made her way into the kitchen where the food was still hot.

"Hope you're hungry." Rio told her as he led Beth into the kitchen. "My abuela is a badass in the kitchen. She could make Ramsay look like an amateur."

"Language, mijo." Rosa gently scolded him as she started scooping empanadas onto three plates.

"But he's not wrong." She smiled at Beth.

"It smells amazing." Beth told her.

"Thank you my dear. The smell's just the beginning. You like empanadas?"

Rio took all of the plates that Rosa had prepared and brought them to the dining room table that was off to the side of the spacious kitchen. He added to the table by bringing three glasses of water and silverware for them all.

"Oh yes, thank you."

"All right kids, dig in."

Rio waited until Rosa sat down before joining her at the table, followed by Beth.

Beth took a bite and immediately she loved it.

"Oh my gosh, Rosa, this is incredible."

Rosa smiled, she loved it when anyone tried her food and enjoyed it. She had a passion for cooking and it always made her so happy to feed others.

"Thank you darling, I'm glad you like it."

"How was your day today, Abuela?" Rio asked as he cut into his food.

"Oh it was wonderful, mi amor. Your nice friend Carlos stopped by with another watermelon from his wife's garden. They're getting so big. If you two want some, please, take some. I have plenty."

Beth slightly raised her brows at Rio before whispering, "Carlos?" She was pretty sure that was the name of one of the men that was with Rio a lot.

"So tell me Beth, how do you know my Rio?"

Beth was taken by surprise by that question. If she were completely honest, this whole thing was a little confusing to her. Logically she understood that Rio would have a family but with how kind the woman was and how she was acting, Beth couldn't tell if she had any idea of what her grandson did or who he actually was. She didn't want to give anything away that Rio wouldn't want her to know.

"Oh uh, well he's um, we actually met at the-."

"Her and her friends work for me." Rio explained smoothly, taking another bite of his empanada.

Beth turned to look at Rio, surprised. And also very glad that he stepped in. She was going to say that they had met at the grocery store. That probably would've been too on the nose.

"Is that right?" She asked Beth, a big smile on her face. "What is it that you do, dear?"

Beth just blinked at Rosa for a moment before turning to Rio, honestly not having a single idea of what to say. She didn't want to lie to this kind woman but she didn't know how much she was allowed to say.

Rio just smiled at his grandmother before replying, "They're my personal shoppers." He said with a smirk at Beth.

"Well isn't that fun!" Rosa exclaimed.

Beth was stunned silent for a second. The three of them continued eating.

"Do you happen to wear pearls, Beth?"

Rosa's sudden question got both of their attentions. Beth looked a little confused and she glanced at Rio to see him looking a little surprised himself. She never thought she'd see the day.

"Yes, I do, sometimes. Do you wear them as well?" Beth figured that just because she didn't understand where the conversation was going didn't mean she couldn't add to it.

"Abuela, this tastes like a new recipe, what's different?" Rio asked. His face returned to its normal composure yet his voice sounded a bit too enthusiastic to talk about recipes.

Rosa paid Rio's question no mind, as if she hadn't even heard him. "Mijo, this wouldn't happen to be the owner of that beautiful strand of pearls I found at your home the other day, would it?" She asked, her voice sounding knowing as if she was already sure of his answer.

Beth's eyes widened a little. Her pearls?

Rosa sat there with the sweetest, smuggest smile on her lips, looking between the two of them. "Well?"

Beth just looked at Rio, waiting for his answer.

Rio swallowed his food thickly and straightened up in his chair.

"Yeah, they're hers." He said, voice low, and returned to his food as if his grandma hadn't just put him on the spot.

"Well dear, they're beautiful." Rosa complimented Beth before finishing her dinner.

When Rio looked back up he caught Beth staring at him, her face in a small smile.

In an effort to change the conversation, Beth looked back over to Rosa and asked, "So Rosa, how long have you lived here? Your home is beautiful."

"Oh thank you sweet heart. I've lived here for about six years now. I love it. Rio thought the neighborhood of my last home was getting too dangerous. He wasn't wrong. Always gunshot noises, people running by, if not for my Rio's sweet friends coming by, I don't know what would've happened."

Every time she referred to Rio's friends as sweet, Beth had to stop herself from laughing. They definitely weren't _sweet_ every time they held guns up to her and the girls' heads.

"So Rio bought this house for me and I've lived here ever since."

Rio remained quiet throughout Rosa's story, just picking at the remaining pieces of his food.

Beth just smiled at Rosa, "That's very sweet of him."

Rio stood up to clear his food and asked if they were done as well before clearing the whole table. He started washing the dishes and left the two women sitting at the table.

Rosa smiled warmly at her and grabbed one of her hands in both of her own.

"So dear, will you be visiting again with Rio soon? You're always welcome here."

"Thank you," Beth smiled at her. "I'd love that. And thank you for the food, it was delicious."

Rosa let go of Beth's hand and stood.

"Oh those were nothing, next time I'll make you one of my favorite dishes: pozole!"

Beth had no idea what that was but she'd already decided that whatever this sweet woman wanted to cook for her, she wouldn't tell her no.

"That sounds great, thank you."

Rio turned around from the kitchen sink in time to see his grandmother scoop Beth up in a hug.

"You two be careful getting home, okay? And Beth, you're welcome to come here any time you want."

Rosa turned to Rio and gave him the same hug before kissing his right cheek. She was shorter than him by over half a foot so she had to stretch to her tip toes and he bent down to meet her half way.

"Te amo, abuela." Rio said quietly to his grandmother.

"I love you too, mijo."

With that, Rio guided Beth out the front door with a hand on her lower back. Beth noticed Rio locking the front door on his way out.

They both got into Rio's car quietly and no one said a word as the drove down the highway.

Beth didn't know where to start. Rio bought his grandmother her house because her last one was in a dangerous place. His "sweet friends" stopped by her house all the time. And she found Beth's pearls some place at Rio's house. She never even thought to ask where those went. He didn't bring them with him when he went to her house that night.

"You can ask." Rio said as he drove.

Beth couldn't stop the laugh that wanted to come out all night about his "friends".

"Your _sweet_ friends, Rio? Carlos, the _sweetie_ pie?"

Rio smiled at that. "They love her. Of course they're sweet to her. She treats them like they're her own. How do you think Carlos put on that weight? She feeds him all the time."

This made Beth laugh even harder. Which was good because Rio liked her laugh.

"Anything else?"

"Her last house was too dangerous?" Beth asked, her laughter dying down finally.

Rio's face grew a little serious, his jaw ticking once. "That place was no good for her. Someone was always robbing somebody, shootin the 'hood up, drug addicts. Place went to shit. I found her a new one. She's safer now. At her old place I had my men visit her everyday, make sure she was okay. Worked to scare the trash that hung out there enough to know not to fuck with her house. Still didn't like her being there though so I asked her if she was willing to move some place nicer and she agreed. My guys just followed her to her new house anyways. Fuckin' puppy dogs."

He said that last part with a smirk on his face.

Beth let that sink in. She admired his protectiveness of Rosa. All of this made her want Rio even more. He clearly loved his grandma. Who wouldn't. The woman was an angel.

"And my pearls?" She asked that with her lips raised in a half smile, her eyes tracing his face as he looked forward.

Rio actually sighed, his face remaining neutral, not giving anything else away.

"They got sentimental value to you?"

His question surprised Beth, "No."

"Good, I'm keepin' em."

He could see the surprise on her face so he smiled at her and said, "I like where they are." Before turning his attention back to the road.

He must have sensed that Beth had no more questions for him so he turned on his radio to something in English. Beth recognized the singer from something Annie listened to, some guy called NF or something.

His voice played quietly as they drove back to where her van was parked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a nail biter for me because I really wanna know how you guys like it. I try not to write Rio out of character but in my head family is important to him so this was a no brainer. Hope y'all liked it!


	10. Resolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: spoilers in the end notes. Hope you enjoy!

Annie was walking out of work after her late shift ended. Before she could open her car door, a hand shot out passed her and shut it before it opened. She already knew who it belonged to but she turned around anyway.

"Boomer," she sighed, not in the mood for this.

"Annie, did you forget to clean the bathrooms before you clocked out?" How he managed to look so smug while he had that face and body, Annie would never know.

"They're spotless." She didn't like how he made her feel as though she was trapped between him and her car.

His body moved slightly closer to her until she didn't have any more room to move.

"Should we go back and make sure?" He asked as if he wasn't currently blocking her freedom.

"Boomer, they're clean. I'm tired. I'm going home. Now if you'll excuse me," she tried to turn around and unlock her door even though she didn't have much space to do it.

"So Annie, I've thought about it and I've decided that I forgive you."

His hand was still keeping her from opening the door. Plus, his words baffled her so much that she couldn't help but ask.

"Excuse me? You forgive me for what, exactly?"

"Well you and your sister _did_  knock me out and hold me hostage in a tree house for days. Not to mention that was _after_  you rejected me. So. You seem to have cleaned up your act lately and I've decided that I'll let you make it up to me."

If his words didn't already make Annie nauseous, his breath certainly did the trick. He was so close to her, his body full on touching hers now, and his breath practically showering all over her made her skin crawl.

Fuck this, she thought. She didn't need the job that badly. Rio may have shut the operation down for now but nothing was worth this. She could find someplace else.

"I'm going to give you two seconds to back up before I knee you in your balls."

Before she could react, Boomer enclosed her body to where she couldn't move her legs much and her arms were at his mercy as well. Annie was just about to scream when she heard a voice in the parking lot. A voice that she _never_  thought she'd ever be happy to hear. Until now.

"There a problem here?"

Annie whipped her head to the direction of Rio's voice and found Rio standing in front of her and Boomer. He was flanked by one man on his left and two on his right. All larger than himself.

Boomer hadn't moved enough to see who was behind him, just turned his head enough to speak to whomever was nosy enough to interrupt them.

"We're fine, you can beat it."

"We're not fucking fine." Annie said angrily.

Rio laughed at Boomer's words. This man must have had a death wish. With a silent nod, the man on his left hauled Boomer by his collar away from Annie. She was so glad to have had space, she inhaled clean air and felt almost dizzy with it. As bad as she wanted to get into her car and get the hell away from Boomer, she was also curious to see what was going to happen. And why Rio would even help her to begin with.

The man that had Boomer by his collar pressed Boomer up against Annie's car in a similar way as the two of them were before.

"That feel good?" Rio asked Boomer. He walked around Boomer and his man until he was at their side.

Boomer just shook his head rapidly, now realizing who Rio was. Or at least remembering his face.

Boomer swallowed hard and fished for an excuse. "Annie and I were just talking. Nothing to see."

"Didn't look like nothin'. Was it nothin' to you, Annie?" Rio asked her, giving her his full attention.

She was startled by his question, not used to being questioned by Rio so civilly.

"No, it wasn't nothing. He trapped me against my car and held me down. Fucker would've probably tried to rape me again." She hadn't meant to say that last part but it had slipped out and she was too pissed and upset to censor herself.

Rio's eyes widened a fraction and his brows rose. "Oh really?" He directed his question to Boomer. " _Again_ , huh?"

The man, Carlos who brought Rosa her watermelon, that had Boomer pinned needed no instruction to tighten his hold on Boomer. Carlos hated rapists. And would love the chance to punish Boomer for his actions.

"Listen, the bitch is crazy. I never tried to rape her the first time. I was attacked by her and her bitch of a sister. This time was no different."

Rio didn't say anything but Annie noticed the way his face darkened when Boomer mentioned her sister. Rio walked closer to  Boomer and Carlos.

"Let's go for a ride."

This surprised both Annie and Boomer.

"No, I'm not going anywhere with you."

Boomer tried to put up a struggle but didn't have much success against Carlos. And the pitiful thing was that Carlos didn't really have to put much effort into it.

Rio laughed in Boomer's face. "Yeah, you ain't gotta choice. Let's go."

Rio and Annie stood facing each other as Boomer was _escorted_  into a black vehicle that Annie assumed Rio arrived in.

"What are you doing?" Annie couldn't help but ask. She was so confused. As far as her and Rio stood, she and the girls were nothing more than lowly money cleaners to him. Money cleaners who he liked to point guns at.

Rio just looked at her with a half smile, half smirk, eyes already looking bored.

"Who is he?"

Annie hesitated before deciding to tell Rio everything. She didn't feel guilty for what she was hoping Rio would do to Boomer. Boomer tried to jeopardize her life and custody battle. He deserved whatever he got.

"He knows more than he should. He knows we robbed the store. He wasn't wrong. Beth and I did tie him up and leave him in her tree house. Because he  _did_  try to rape me and she defended me. He escaped and has been making our lives hell ever since. Planted drugs on me, following us. There's no telling what else he knows."

Annie couldn't tell, but Rio was proud of his Beth for defending her sister. It sounded like that asshole deserved everything Beth did and more. And it also sounded like Boomer could be, _and was_ , a real problem. He clearly knew too much.

"Anybody gonna miss him?"

Even though Annie was silently hoping that that's where this would lead to, she was still shocked at the question. At how real it made everything seem.

"A grandmother." She thought of sweet, sweet Marion. "But please, please don't hurt her," she rushed to say.

Rio let out a quiet laugh. "What kinda monster you think I am?"

In this light, Annie could almost see Rio with a sense of humor. Almost.

"No grandmothers will be harmed, I promise. For all you know, all's good."

He said the last few words as he started to walk backwards, still facing Annie.

"Stop by somewhere away from here, get something to eat, pay with plastic, and go home. Go to Beth's. Go where ever."

He finally turned around towards his car. There hadn't been any noise during their conversation. If Annie hadn't have known better, she never would have thought that someone was forced into a car against their will. She never heard Boomer resist them or even say a word. The car appeared quiet and steady, windows tinted enough that anything on the inside was concealed. It was already pitch dark out anyways making it hard to see inside.

Annie just realized that she was shaking and finally made her way inside of her car. She did as he said, unsure of the specific instructions until it hit her. He was telling her to leave a paper trail. A time stamped paper trail. She started to drive and took a deep breath. There was no way of knowing for sure what was going to happen. Even if she was right, it was out of her hands. She just told Rio what was going on and how Boomer was involved. Boomer knowing what he did put Rio at risk. However Rio chose to _handle_ it was his business.

Annie wanted to feel guilty but she just couldn't. She didn't ask to be attacked by Boomer in the parking lot. That was all him.

For the first time in a while, Annie slept well that night.

* * *

Annie and Beth were sitting in Beth's living room when Ruby came in from the side door.

Ruby's face looked like she had just seen a ghost. She sat down without a word and the other two just looked at her, confused.

"Ruby? You okay?" Beth asked her.

Ruby just blinked a few times and turned to look at Beth.

"Stan just told me about a mugging." Was all Ruby said, face still in shock.

Betb and Annie looked at each other once before looking back at Ruby. Annie guessing who it was and Beth worried that it was someone they knew. Someone _good_.

"They think it was a mugging gone wrong. He was in a bad part of town. Apparently violent muggings happen a lot there. Death count's pretty high, I guess. They're not investigating it."

"Who?" Beth asked impatiently.

"Boomer's dead."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I couldn't stand that guy. May not be very realistic but yeah. He gone. Everyone's hands are clean. Yay! This story is going to try to follow the show but a couple of things will be different. Some flavor ;)


	11. Poison

_"Boomer's dead."_

Annie thought her heart would stop at those words. It paused for a millisecond and kept on beating and she let out a sigh of relief. The only thing she felt guilty about was Marion and how she'd be even more alone now. But Annie made a promise to herself that she'd visit Marion more often and she would. Other than that, Annie was just relieved.

She looked over at Beth as she choked on her water.

"He's dead? Boomer, Fine & Frugal, disgusting little worm, Boomer? Is dead?" Beth asked.

Ruby sighed and nodded her head.

"Stan came home and told me what happened. Apparently someone found his body near a dumpster early this morning. They said a lot of drug deals go down in that area. Some don't always work out. They're not really sure what happened but they're used to this kinda stuff happening. No witnesses, no suspects, nothing."

"My god." Beth said as she sat back against her couch.

None of the girls said anything for a few seconds until Beth quietly broke the silence.

"Can't say he didn't have it coming."

"Karma is a bitch." Ruby agreed.

Annie wasn't sure if she should tell them what she knew, tell them what happened.

She was terrified that this would be considered a "favor" by Rio. What if in his twisted mind, this meant that they now owed him something because he _handled_  a problem for her. She trusted Ruby and her sister with her life. If she couldn't tell them this then what were they even doing?

"I know who did it."

Beth and Ruby looked at Annie, surprise on their faces.

"What are you talking about? How do you know who killed him?" Her sister asked.

Annie sighed and told them the whole story.

"I didn't know what he was actually going to do though! He just, I don't know, just told me to go home. I mean, he did ask me if anyone was going to miss him. I figured this could happen but, it's not like he told me his plan."

"You don't have to defend yourself, Annie." Beth said as she rubbed her sister's shoulder.

"Rio saw you two, saw what Boomer was doing, and learned that Boomer was a threat because of how much he knew. A threat to Rio and his business, to his men. It's not on you, Annie."

"I'm not even sad about it. I don't feel guilty. I'm relieved." Annie said as she looked at nothing in front of her. She glanced at the girls, "I'm just sad for Marion."

"What if Rio wants something now?" Annie asked them.

"What do you mean?" Asked Beth.

"Look, Rio is unpredictable. Who knows what he thinks this means now. What if this puts us in his debt now. What if he shows up with an army of hurt thugs and expects us to shelter them all. Or send us on a drug mission across another border?"

She was getting more anxious as she talked. She wasn't stupid. Rio and his people held too many guns at her head to know that nothing is without its debts.

Beth actually laughed, she couldn't help herself. "Annie, honey, I don't think that that's what any of this means now."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because. Boomer made it personal for Rio. He made himself a liability. That's what happens to liabilities."

Ruby just sat there, taking it all in.

Annie stretched out on the chair she was sitting in. "I hope you're right."

* * *

"I'll ask Rio."

Annie laughed at that. "And what are you going to say? 'Hey gang friend, I've got loads of Botox here, you want to move this stuff for me? You'll make a killing!'?"

Beth just smiled at her. "Well, I'm not going to call him _gang friend,_ but maybe he'll be interested in selling it. It's good stuff, high in demand, expensive. People will pay a lot for it. It's worth a try."

* * *

"Where did you even get all of this from?" Rio asked her, a small smile on his face.

Rio and Beth were in her living room with a bunch of tiny Botox bottles in front of them. She had asked him to come over to talk about potential business.

"Not important."

He laughed and put the bottle he was holding back on her coffee table.

"It's a secret then? All right." He said slowly as he scanned her body from head to toe.

Beth wasn't sure when it happened but it felt a little wrong to keep secrets from Rio now. She didn't think he minded all that much but she could tell he was surprised that she wouldn't answer him.

"It's just stuff that we... lifted."

This made him laugh even harder. He moved closer to her on the couch and leaned his shoulder against her.

"Life of crime suits you." He joked.

"But," he sighed, "this stuff isn't exactly the kinda product that I move. Plus, this stuff is garbage, it's poison."

He didn't like seeing the disappointed look on Beth's face.

"You're sure though? There's not a black market beauty product ring anywhere? Where desperate, stretched out real housewives of where ever go to get there needle fix on the sly?"

He smiled at her, "Maybe but uh, none that I associate with."

Beth sighed. She figured it was a long shot but worth the try.

"And what do you mean, poison? It's no more poisonous than the substances your guys deal."

He smirked at her, "They run with people who like that kinda poison though. If ya hadn't noticed, they don't hang out at your PTA meetings."

And that was a blow. He might not have meant it the way it sounded but it made Beth feel old. He wasn't wrong, the women she saw more often than not were exactly the kind of women who would love Botox the most. The women she was close in age with. She knew he found her attractive but she never forgot how much older she was than him. 

Rio saw the change in her face and put his hand on her thigh.

"And you best not put that stuff in ya face. You don't need it."

And he _did_ mean that.

This made her smile a little and she leaned in to kiss him. "Come up stairs," she said against his lips.

She moved the bottles in a cabinet so they weren't out in the open and led Rio up to her room by his hand.

She opened the door and as soon as they were inside he attached his mouth to the side of her neck. He had missed this. It had been too long since they had sex and he missed the way she felt under his tongue and body.

She moaned at the way he was sucking at her skin. Beth wasn't even thinking of the marks he could be leaving. She was more focused on getting herself and Rio out of their clothes.

Beth started with Rio's pants and her hands met his.

"Uh-uh, not yet." He told her.

Rio gently pushed her down on her bed and started to work her jeans down her body. Once they were off, he slid her top off and started kissing between her breasts. He loved how she felt against his face and tongue. He unsnapped and removed her bra and quickly took a nipple into his mouth. He started sucking on it as his hand trailed down her body and into her underwear. He massaged her clit with two fingers and firmly licked her nipple.

Beth was torn between pushing her chest harder against his mouth and grinding down against his hand. She could feel herself grow wetter and she needed more.

She massaged Rio's scalp with her fingers and gently pushed him away from her chest. She grew more confident at seeing his face darken some from being denied her breasts. She laid down on her bed and stretched out in front of him.

Rio got the hint and smirked at her. He looked down her body and his smirk turned feral when he saw how wet she was.

He took her by surprise when he ripped her underwear off. Literally ripped them. She didn't have time to react before she felt his mouth attack her pussy.

Rio went straight to her clit, sucking it and massaging it with his tongue.

He liked the way she tasted and how she moaned when he ate her. He learned the harder he sucked the more she'd seek friction against his hungry mouth. Rio liked it when she lost herself in pleasure. He wanted to see how wild he could make her.

Rio sucked one of her lips into his mouth and started rubbing his thumb against her clit.

He smirked against her when he felt her fingers return to his scalp, half massaging him and half pushing him harder against her.

Taking the hint, he dug his tongue into her hole, tasting her from the source. Her slick was thick on his tongue, sweet and slightly salty. He loved it.

Beth never felt self-conscious about how she tasted or looked with Rio the way she had with Dean. Rio made it very clear how much he wanted her.

She could feel it in the way he adamantly worked his tongue in her. The way he grabbed her breast and started massaging it. She could hear his moans and feel their vibrations against her.

That's what pushed her over the edge and had her coming in his mouth.

She was growing sensitive but didn't push him away as he stayed to clean her. He kept licking her until all of her slick was gone. He sucked her clit one last time and gave it a small lick before his mouth met hers.

She didn't mind the taste of herself. Not when it was mingled with Rio's tongue.

He must have taken his jeans off at some point because when she moved her hands south she could feel his soft briefs.

Rio sat up and took off his shirt before going back to licking her neck.

She never got tired of watching him get naked for her. She loved the way his muscles shifted under his tanned skin.

Rio knew his way around her bedroom already because he stopped his sucking on her neck long enough to grab a condom from her nightstand.

"I want to ride you." She told him. Her words making him pause for a second as he put the condom on. He didn't say anything, just smirked and continued.

He sat back against her pillows, waiting for her to come to him. She thought his confidence would get on her nerves but she liked it. He never lost his attitude even when he was with her. He was softer with her, sure, but he managed to keep the same cocky bravado even as he was as naked as sin. On anyone else she probably wouldn't like it as much but it suited him.

Beth straddled his hips and rubbed herself against his cock, feeling how hard he was.

She leaned down to kiss him as she slid down on his cock in one motion.

"Fuck, baby." He moaned.

That was new. His voice was raspy and quiet but she heard it all the same.

It encouraged her to move faster on him. She started bouncing on his thick cock, used to his girth by now. He filled her more fully than she was used to but now she couldn't imagine feeling any other way.

She twisted her hips and heard the hiss that came out of Rio.

Beth's hands came up to rest on Rio's shoulders as she used them for leverage. She rubbed her chest against him and brought their bodies closer. He buried his face in her breasts and worked his hips against her as much as he could.

He loved this position but he wanted to fuck her harder. Rio shifted them and pushed her backwards until she was beneath him. Beth was impressed at how strong he was to do that without missing a beat, his hips still keeping their rhythm.

She laid out beneath him, his arms bracketing her body. Rio's rhythm sped up and his thrusts became harder when he felt Beth wrap her legs around his waist.

Beth tightened around his cock and came around him, her mouth open as she moaned his name.

Rio kissed her neck, his thrusts slowing down but going deeper and deeper.

He stayed inside of her after he filled the condom. Her legs were wrapped tightly around him, holding him in place.

 They kissed for a few minutes until Rio finally rolled off of her. He threw the tied condom somewhere and pulled her comforter around them. Rio laid on his side, his body pressed against Beth's as she laid on her back. His hand started rubbing circles against her naked hip.

"I never get tired of that," she said drowsily with a smile on her lips.

He leaned down and kissed her again. "Good," was all he had to say.

She'd never say it to anyone but Rio liked to cuddle with her after he came. He was warm and his body firm against hers.

She closed her eyes and before she felt herself doze off she looked at Rio and could tell he was fast asleep.

She smiled at him and did the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked OnlyMe2898's suggestion of mentioning their Botox scene so I put that in. I loved that scene. Now if only they'd do it already! I haven't seen the latest episode so who knows, maybe they have. A girl can hope.  
> Hope you enjoyed it!  
> **Edit- Just watched 1.9. What the hell. Keys thrown. Thug kids axed. "Elizabeth." Taking down Rio. This is not the desired plan, NBC. Whatchu doin????**


	12. Results

Beth sat in front of the new desk that Dean had gotten for her. He was still living with his parents but he felt the need to pop over at times and the last time he brought something with him. She wasn't going to accept it until he showed her the sliding compartment. She was sure she'd never use it for its purpose, too obvious. But she tolerated the gesture for what it was.

Dean had helped her move the Botox and gave her the money from it all. It was a hefty sum that was almost on par for its value. A part of her was curious if he kept any of it for himself but she figured since he sold it and gave her what appeared to be most of the profit, she'd let it slide. They'd still have bottles filled with the junk if not for him.

She was re-counting her money as she thought about what Annie had told them. It was a habit that she had gotten into whenever she needed to think. Helped clear her mind and keep her hands busy.

Beth wanted to ask Rio about it but she wasn't sure if she should. She was confident that he wouldn't be upset that Annie told her. He had to have known that her sister wouldn't keep something like that from Beth. But would he admit to it? It was one thing to be suspicious about it but it was another to have a confession. She was tempted to leave it as it was. If she didn't know everything that happened with Boomer then it was less information that she'd have to lie about. Less that Rio had to admit to.

"You look like you're thinkin' pretty hard." Rio's voice broke her train of thought.

She stopped counting and put her money down on the table in front of her. Rio was standing near her double doors, slowly walking towards her.

"What's on your mind?" He asked her, voice calm and even.

He was wearing a black jacket longer than his usual hoodies and a dark grey button up that covered most of his neck tattoo. His hands were in his pockets, gaze firmly on hers.

"Just counting, that's all. What's up?"

He read her face for a moment before taking in all of the money in front of her. He made a low whistle and stood closer to her.

"That's a lotta cash. Sellin' your cookies on the corner?" He joked with her, a playful smirk on his face. He started massaging her shoulders as he stood behind her.

Beth laughed before she closed her eyes.

"More like Botox."

Rio's hands paused their movements for a second before he continued working her muscles.

"Damn, how'd you move it." He sounded impressed. He was. She had asked him for help, when that didn't work, she figured out her own way. He wanted to help her but he was being honest with her that day. He just didn't have any connections with that kind of business.

"Dean helped me."

Rio's pause in his massage lasted longer this time.

"What?" He thought he took care of that problem.

Beth turned to look at Rio from where she was sitting.

"Yeah. He found the Botox. I told him about it and how we couldn't move it. Next thing I know he's taking all of the bottles and turned a profit. A _big_ profit. Said he knew a guy in the medical business that would buy it all, no questions asked."

"What'd he get in return?" Rio asked her, his face stony and unreadable.

His question took Beth back a second. She laughed at what Rio was proposing.

"You mean like, a cut? Yeah I'm pretty sure he probably skimmed off the top but what he gave out was still a lot. Would have been nothing if he hadn't helped."

"That's not what I meant." Rio's voice didn't betray anything. He sounded calm still. He gently turned Beth back facing forward and went back to massaging her shoulders. She had to admit, he definitely knew what he was doing as he worked out her knots.

"What'd you mean then?" Half interested in their conversation, half wanting him to continue his ministrations.

"Did he get in your pants?" His tone was even but he sounded just a little frustrated. Like he was having to explain something for the 10th time to someone who wasn't listening.

Beth turned quickly out of his grasp and stood before him.

"Excuse me?" Rio did not just accuse her of sleeping with Dean just because he did her a favor?

Rio held his hands up slightly, aware that his question didn't go over too well.

"Look, I'm just sayin. Car salesman ain't gonna do a favor like that for free. He blackmailed you, right? To stay in your house, in your bed. He moves out. Great. Dropped the threats, even better. Now he's doin you favors? He didn't just lose interest just because I threatened him, Beth. He's changing his tactics. More flies with honey and all that."

"So you did threaten him." She figured, but it was nice to hear him say it. She wasn't mad, by no means. She was grateful. It got Dean off her back.

"Of course I did. He was blackmailing you. Dude's worthless. And lucky that that's all I did. Now he's doing you favors. Did it work?"

She wasn't as pissed as she knew she should have been. Beth could tell that this wasn't Rio calling her a whore for Botox. He wasn't implying that she'd be easy enough to sleep with just because someone sold something for her. This was him jealous. That another man did her a favor that he couldn't. A man who wanted back in her good graces and it had Rio worried that it'd lead to something else. Rio knew what Dean's end game was and obviously he didn't like it.

So her next words didn't come out as venomous as the words themselves, but she did want the message to come across.

"Fuck you if you think that I can be bought. He did me a favor. That's all. I don't care what he wants. He made it perfectly clear what he wants. It's not gonna happen. I needed money, he volunteered. And you're pissed that he did it and you couldn't. Remember, I came to you first."

They were heated. This conversation went from zero to a hundred so fast that it wasn't a surprise to anyone that they both landed against a wall. Rio shoved her against the nearest wall and attacked her mouth with his. It was very consensual despite how rough it was.

"Only. Come to me." He rasped between kisses. They both helped the other out of their clothes. Pieces of clothing being flung in every direction as teeth and tongues warred with each other.

"Needed results." She was egging him on now.

Rio growled before turning a predatory smirk at her. "And that's what you'll get."

He grabbed her at her waist and lifted her onto his hips. Rio wrapped her legs around him and stretched her with two fingers. He stretched them inside of her, massaging her at a quick pace. His thumb met her clit and was rewarded with her moans.

He lowered her onto his cock. Beth barely had time to adjust before he started thrusting into her rapidly. There wasn't finesse as much as it was just eager thrusts for release. And she loved it.

Beth wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and up his head and brought his mouth to hers.

They kissed as passionately as he fucked her. She may not have been able to move much with her back against the wall but she made sure to dominate his mouth. She bit his bottom lip hard and sucked it into her mouth. The stinging pain of it made his thrusts stutter before they continued the fast rhythm.

Beth started to lick into Rio's mouth. With the way she was sitting on his cock, she had the upper vantage point to devour his mouth. His lips were soft and full against hers. He let her do whatever she wanted, take all the control she needed as he kept pounding inside of her. She could already tell her back was going to be sore for a few days after this. So long as his lips would be sore too, she didn't care.

They both finished together. Thank goodness she was on the pill. Still reckless, she'd have to make him get a test after this. But for now, she just enjoyed the way his hot come filled her. She could feel every pulse from his cock inside of her, his dick hot and smooth against her walls.

They were both panting as Rio held her against himself and the wall. Their kisses turned softer but still full of tongue.

When he finally let her down his soft cock was hanging between them. He buried his face in her neck and hair, breathing in her scent.

"That enough result for you?"

She laughed at his question.

Beth let him stay as he was. His hands were tight on her hips and his mouth occasionally pressed kisses against her neck.

"I don't go to him for _those_ kind of results, ya know."

"You better not." He mumbled against her skin. She tried not to laugh at how petulant he sounded. Big bad crime boss jealous of her ex-husband. It shouldn't have been as cute as it was.

"I don't go to him for anything, Rio." She said near his ear. She brought her hand up to rub the back of his neck and head. "He found the bottles. Said he knew how to sell them. End of story."

Rio sighed. He liked the way her hand felt as it rubbed his head.

"Fine. As long as he knows his place."

He kissed her one last time before they started getting dressed.

"What ever else you need _moved_ , you come to me. I'll get it done."

She chuckled softly. "Whatever you say, dear."

He gave her a side eye and a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This show is a mess. They need to kiss and make up. Pronto. Got me so heated I couldn't stop myself.


	13. Eavesdropping

Rio gave Beth one last kiss before he left her house.

Before Beth could even begin straightening things back out, Annie's voice rang through her living room.

"What the hell?"

As much as various people made it a habit to randomly pop in to her house, Beth never really got over the shock of having someone appear unannounced.

"Annie," she hissed. "You scared me."

"What the _**fuck**_ was that?" Annie seemed a little frazzled, like she had when she 13 and accidentally saw their parents having sex. She couldn't sleep for three nights after that.

"What was what?" Beth asked. She started busting herself around her kitchen.

Annie determinedly followed.

"Don't act stupid with me. Gangfriend just _kissed_ you. _Kissed_ you!" Her hands were beginning to gesticulate wildly.

"Then you know what that was. It was a kiss."

Annie couldn't believe how blasé Beth was acting. She just saw their tatted up tormentor slash criminal boss tongue kiss her sister. Who seemed _really_ into it.

"Uh, ya think? What I wanna know is why? How? What the hell is happening?"

Beth took a big sigh.

"We're kind of," she paused. "We've been-, we've been seeing each other. Sort of."

"Since _when_? And how do you mean sort of?"

Annie took the small stretch of silence as a bad sign and rushed to her sister's side.

"Is he forcing you into this? Is this some sort of Stockholm thing?"

Beth's eyes got comically wide at that.

"I swear, I will put a bullet in his chest, Beth. You just say the word."

Beth started laughing.

"All right, little mafiaso, no need for guns. Rio's actually teaching me how to shoot one. If you promise not to use it on him, maybe I'll teach you one day. Rio's right. We should all probably learn how to use one. Just in case."

"He's teaching you how to shoot a gun? Beth, how in the hell did this happen?"

"Do you remember when we were counting the money that day and I realized that my stack had a lot more than yours and Ruby's?"

"Yeah?"

"It was right before that."

"What was?" Annie asked.

Beth blinked at her sister once. She was trying to decide how little or how much detail she wanted to share without scarring her sister.

"We had sex. I started it. I wanted it. It was completely consensual."

"Well. Can't say I blame ya there. Gangfriend's pretty hot."

Beth laughed in agreement.

"Yeah. Well, after that money incident, I accused him of paying me off like a whore. He denied it. And I believe him. After that, we've been spending time together. With sex."

Annie made an impressed looking face. "Bye-bye dried up twigs," she muttered.

Beth elbowed her sister for that.

"So what? You two going steady?" She asked in a mock-tone, smile on her lips.

Beth laughed and full on shoved her sister that time.

"I dunno. Right now, I think it's just sex."

Annie hummed. "You think it's gonna last? You have feelings for him?"

Beth ran her fingers through her hair and let out a soft groan.

"How the hell could it last with him?" She asked, mostly to thin air. "He's a, a _gang_ banger. It wouldn't work. How would I even tell my kids about him? 'Hey babies, meet mommy's new friend. Don't pay attention to all the tattoos and the obvious gun in his pants?' He's not someone you introduce your kids too."

Beth was stilling groaning softly to herself over her little dilemma. Her noise covered up the sound of a door shutting. Annie heard a soft thump and figured it was a noise from the dog.

"You didn't answer my question though."

"Which one?" Beth looked up at her.

"Do you have feelings for him?" Annie's face softened.

Beth had her head in her hand and she turned to look at her sister. "God yes."

"The sex is one thing. It is-, hot. And if it were just about sex then it wouldn't be an issue. But I like him. He even introduced me to his grandma, Annie. Who is adorable and gives food to his men and was so sweet to me. The way he was with her was sweet and protective and damn if it wasn't some of the hottest stuff I've ever seen. Him with his family like that, how much he loved her, made me fall for him. Even harder."

She was met with silence.

"... _gangfriend_? Sweet? With grandmas?"

Beth laughed. "I know. I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it. He even bought her a house in a better area to keep her safe. He reminded her to keep her doors locked. It was so cute."

Annie still had a look of surprise on her face.

"Well I'll be damned."

"Yeah."

"And to be honest," Beth continued, "I think he'd be a better influence on the kids than Dean. All Dean's good for is cheating and lying about having cancer. And selling Botox." She said that last line as an afterthought.

"So you actually wanna introduce him to your kids?"

"I mean, yeah. Someday. If that's what Rio wants. I wanna see where this goes with him. I like him."

Annie clapped her hands once.

"Well go on with your bad self then. Good for you."

Annie paused for a moment. "Does he know that we know what happened with Boomer?"

"I haven't told him. I figured if he wants me to know, then he'll tell me himself."

Annie hummed again.

* * *

 Several days had passed since Beth last saw Rio, the day that Annie found out about them.

Nearly two and a half weeks.

It wasn't unusual for a lapse of time to go by between seeing him and his men. But since they had started seeing each other, this much time was new. Usually he'd make a point in seeing Beth at least three or four times a week, if not more.

They were back in business laundering money and the only way that Beth knew that was because his men made a drop of the fake cash for them to wash.

No words, no warning, just a random visit in a parking lot like the first drop and that was it. No Rio in sight. It wasn't even Carlos that did it.

Beth was torn between being worried about Rio and feeling as though she was being blown off. She had a wary feeling that this could happen. And she hated being left in the dark.

Her attempts in contacting Rio were unsuccessful. She tried over a handful of times and she was worried that she'd start appearing desperate if she continued. She couldn't help the small part of her that was worried about Rio though. So she tried another option.

* * *

Beth knocked on the door before her.

Soon enough, a petite woman answered the door.

"Hola, Elizabeth!" Came Rosa's thick accent. She grabbed Beth in a warm hug.

"What brings you here, my darling? Are you hungry?"

Beth couldn't help the smile on her face. She walked into the house after Rosa gestured her inside.

"No ma'am, I was just wondering if you know how Rio is doing."

Confusion flashed on Rosa's face. "What do you mean, dear?"

"Um, I just hadn't seen him in a little while and I was worried that he might be sick or- or hurt, maybe."

"Oh. No darling, none of the sort. Rio was just here last night looking as healthy as ever."

Just as Beth felt relief wash over her, Rosa got her attention again.

"A bit down though, poor dear."

Beth looked up at Rosa, meeting her kind eyes.

"Down?" She asked.

 Rosa sat down next to Beth and picked up her knitting.

"Mi Rio pequeño didn't eat much last night. Picked at it, didn't say much. Kissed his abuela on the cheek and left late last night. Didn't seem like himself."

Beth sat with Rosa and watched as she knitted what looked like a scarf.

After a little while they said they're good byes and Rosa sent a Tupperware dish full of tamales with Beth.

Beth drove home and left a message for Rio asking if and when they could meet. She didn't know if anything would come out of it or not but she had to try.

All of her kids were at friend's houses that night so she came home to an empty house.

Beth had just finished reheating Rosa's tamales when she heard a knock at her back door. When she went to look, she saw Rio through the glass. He had on one of his black hoodies with the hood over his head. It reminded her of how he dressed when they first started working for him.

His face was stoic as she answered the door. He didn't make any movement to come inside so she held the door out as wide as she could, "Do you wanna come in?"

He waited for a few seconds, almost as if waiting for something to pop out from behind her. Rio finally stepped in and stood by the wall nearest to the door.

"What's up?"

Beth's eyebrows shot up. _What?_

" _What's up_?" Rio's face didn't move. "You practically-, ...disappeared for the last two weeks. After you didn't answer any of my calls or texts, I got worried." Her voice dropped an octave as she trailed off.

Rio's face may have softened minutely before it resumed its previous stoic features. If she had blinked she would've missed it.

"Well," he shrugged. "No need to worry. Your food smells good, I'll let you get back to it."

Were his parting words before he turned for the door handle.

"Wait." He stopped and turned just enough to look at her.

"What's, did something happen?" Her face was back to looking worried.

Rio shrugged again, "Nope."

He made another attempt to leave and this time he was stopped by a soft hand on elbow.

He sighed, "was there anything else?"

She dropped his elbow. Beth had no idea what was going on. He was acting standoffish, hadn't spoken to her in over two weeks, even his grandmother said something was off. And now he was treating her almost as badly as he did the first night they met. As much as Beth wanted to be pissed about the sudden 180 in his behavior, she was more hurt than anything else.

"Why are you acting this way?" Beth's tone was just a little more than a whisper.

She could see Rio's jaw twitch at her question.

"Look. This ain't gonna work anymore, Red. The sex was fun but that's all it was, right?" His voice sounded bored and uninterested.

Beth was completely thrown. Where was this coming from?

"Besides," Rio drawled with a malicious smirk on his face. "Can't let your kids know you're slummin it with someone like me. What would your PTA bitches think?"

Just like that, all of Beth's words came back to her. Her conversation with Annie just before Rio started avoiding her.

Rio must have seen the realization don on Beth's face.

"Yeah," he drawled out again, cruel smirk still in place.

"How did you even,"

Rio cut her off, "Forgot somethin here the other day. Went back to get it, overheard you. What does it matter though, right? This was just sex. Nothin like that lasts. Not a big deal."

He made a final move to leave.

"Would you just fucking stop?" Beth yelled out. She tried to touch Rio again but he stopped her with a warning glare.

"Look, I'm sorry about what you heard. Did you," she caught her breath, "did you even stay to hear the rest of it? You couldn't have because you wouldn't be acting like this. If you would've just fucking stayed instead of _avoiding_ me for the last half a month, you would've heard everything."

"What difference does it make to me, huh?" He was back to sounding bored.

"Clearly you didn't like what you heard or you wouldn't be looking at me like that."

She sighed before she continued, "I panicked when she first asked me if I had feelings for you. My God Rio, we haven't exactly talked about how long this was gonna last. Yeah, you told me you were all in when you were with someone but this started because of a fantasy. A fuck to get it out of our systems. Then we kept doing it. You never told me if this was serious to you."

Rio remained silent so Beth continued, "I do. I like you. I want more with you. You are a fucking catch, okay? You're gorgeous, you're strong, the way you care about your grandmother is so damn sexy to me, and I love being around you. And if you had bothered to stay for five more seconds, you would've also heard that I'd love for my kids to meet you. Maybe not right now but soon."

Rio's face wasn't as hard as it first was but he still wasn't saying anything, just keeping his stare on her.

Beth made a sound in between a scoff and a laugh, "I even said you'd probably make a better influence on them than their own damned father."

Beth wasn't crying but her eyes were wetter than before. She held Rio's gaze before walking to her oven.

"Now. I have tamales. Would you like some?"

She didn't care to hear what his answer was before dragging the entire dish over to her dining room table and reaching to grab two plates.

Rio took the plates out of her hand and softly kissed her on the lips once.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, his lips brushing against hers.

She watched as Rio set the plates down and started putting the food on them. She sat down when he went to grab forks for them. He gave her one before sitting down next to her.

They both ate in silence.

When they were done, Rio put their dishes in her dish washing machine before gently taking her hand and led them both upstairs to her bedroom.

He laid her out on her bed and started taking her clothes off slowly. When he was satisfied, he leaned in and kissed her, not giving her any time to adjust to the way he practically shoved his tongue in her mouth. It wasn't often that he'd kiss her like this but when he did Beth felt like her insides were on fire.

Beth brought both of her arms around his neck and pressed their bodies closer. She gasped when she felt his fingers work their way inside of her. He started with one and pressed it against her clit, eventually working two in her, stretching her for him.

"I shouldn't have acted that way." He said into her neck.

Beth turned to look at him and kissed him deeply.

"You didn't like what I said. Why?"

Rio removed his fingers and started grinding his cock against her cunt. She moaned at he pressure.

"Because this," he paused for a second as he slid inside of her causing Beth to hiss at the intrusion.

"Is not, just, about, sex." Each word was joined with a thrust. His strokes were long and deep, slowly filling her each time.

Beth closed her eyes tightly and let him drive into her.

"I'm sorry I said it was," she gasped out as he slammed into her particularly hard. "I know that's not what this is." Beth caught Rio's lips again in an apology.

She sucked his tongue into her mouth the way she knew he liked it. He also had a thing for her biting his bottom lip and sucking on it.

Rio pressed inside of her again and rolled his hips getting in deeper. He ground against her clit this way and she saw stars as she came.

"Fuck, I love it when you come around me," he rasped out. His movements quickened when he felt Beth dig her heels into his ass.

She squeezed her cunt around his dick and smiled when he hissed from the pressure. He came shortly after that.

He slipped out and rolled on his back beside her. Rio slid his hand up her body and started massaging one of her breasts, his thump playing with the nipple.

"You ain't afraid of me bein around your kids?"

His question came out as a soft rumble.

Beth looked at Rio. She regretted what she said to Annie all over again when she saw how Rio took it.

Beth covered Rio's hand with her own and leaned into kiss him.

"No. I'm sorry I said that, too. I would love it if you met them. As long as you want to."

Rio pulled back, a sweeter smirk on his lips than the cruel ones from earlier.

"Hell yeah, I want to. They're your kids." She could practically hear the _duh_ in his voice.

She laid back down and Rio wrapped an arm around her.

"So we understood?" Rio's chest rumbled underneath.

"About what?" Beth started drawing circles on his chest.

"We're doin this. Long term. The sex is fuckin great but we got more than that. When you're ready, I meet your kids."

He kissed her neck and said softly, "I'm yours," another kiss, "and you're mine."

She lightly dug her nails into his chest.

"Understood?"

Beth smiled and kissed him again, "mmhm."

They laid there for a few minutes before Rio broke the silence.

"How's my grandma?"

Beth quickly turned to look at him.

"What?"

One side of Rio's mouth lifted in a half smile. "Those were her tamales."

Beth wasn't sure how Rio would feel about her just popping in to see his grandma without telling him.

"I saw her because I was worried about you."

Rio's eyes went soft for her.

Until they went slightly wider when she smacked his shoulder.

"And don't _ever_  disappear like that again."

Rio smirked and pressed his body closer to hers. "Yes, dear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy, what a finale! I keep checking google to see if they renew the series. Honestly it kinda feels criminal not to renew it. They can't give us that much chemistry without a sexy explosion, right?
> 
> Anywho. Hope you guys liked it!


	14. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO sorry for the long delay. I received the sweetest comment from Niham87 that inspired me to get back in the swing of things. I hope to finish this bad boy without such long gaps next time. Hope you enjoy!

Beth and Rio were sitting in his black sedan in front of an expensive looking one-story home. The exterior looked sleek with a charcoal colored front door, dark grey shutters against a light grey house. The porch was stained a dark color with accents of red in two red hanging planters with green ferns flowing from each of them, both flanking the front door. She didn't need for him to tell her it was his home. It practically screamed Rio.

Her attention was grabbed by the sound of Rio's seatbelt un-clicking. "Let's go."

He rumbled from his side of the car.

Beth made the offhanded comment about seeing his house but she really didn't think he'd bring her here so soon after their conversation.

* * *

_"Ya know, you've seen pretty much every room in my house."_

_Beth mused out loud. Her and Rio had just dried off from their shower and they were getting dressed._

_"And?" He asked as he pulled up his jeans and slid on his belt._

_She rolled her eyes. " **And**."_

_She tracked Rio's eyes as he watched her cover her breasts with her shirt. She couldn't help but smirk a little as disappointment flashed in his eyes after her shirt was on._

_"You don't think I'm curious to know what_ your _house looks like?"_

_Rio didn't say anything for a few moments, just watched her as she finished putting her clothes on. It really was a shame._

_"You wanna see my house?" He sat on her bed while he slipped his shirt on._

_"Yeah. I don't even know where it is."_

_He rolled his neck twice, working the tension out. Beth climbed on the bed behind him and started rubbing his shoulders._

_Rio let out a soft groan as she dug her fingers into his tight muscles._

_"You can see my house."_

_Was his flippant answer. She figured the conversation ended there since his eyes fell closed. Beth took her time massaging him. She liked doing it just as much as Rio. She loved dragging her hands down his back and shoulders and rubbing circles in his neck._

_It's too bad they just got dressed because their clothes didn't survive another five minutes after that._

* * *

As Beth walked up Rio's porch she found a small birdhouse hanging in the back corner of his porch. It looked homemade though the colors matched his home. Vibrant shades of red against dark and light greys.

Beth raised her eyebrows slightly at Rio before she smiled at the birdhouse.

"Carlos's kid made it."

And that was all the explanation needed before he walked ahead of her.

She smirked at his back as he let himself inside. Clearly Rio had a soft spot for these people.

While the outside was a mix of dark and light colors, the inside had a brighter feel to it. The same tones were carried throughout the house but with all of the natural light it looked lighter and spacious. The hardwood floors were a light grey with a noticeable grain and the furniture was all soft dark leather.

Beth's eyes followed Rio as he walked into the kitchen.

_Heaven help me._

Her eyes widened as she took in the place. Damn. This kitchen was a kitchen of her dreams. The cabinets were a light grey, countertops were dark granite, and all of the appliances were stainless steel. It looked fitting for a gourmet chef. Any moment she was waiting for Gordon Ramsay or Marth Stewart to pop out and say, "Gotchya."

"You thirsty?"

He was standing in front of his wide refrigerator where he had it opened.

"Uh, yeah. I'll just have water, thank you."

"You look like you see a ghost."

Rio grabbed a glass and filled it with his water pitcher.

"Your kitchen is amazing." She said distractedly as she walked around.

Rio just watched her, small smile playing on his lips.

"So. Ya seen it."

"The kitchen." She said pointedly, her eyes moving to the side to look at him sharply.

His grin turned filthy at that. "What more'd you wanna see?"

There weren't many things that Beth wanted to do more than stripping Rio down and licking his tattooed skin. But all of the things that his kitchen had to offer were pretty good distractions. As much as she wasn't a Susie Homemaker anymore, she still loved cooking. Rio's widening smile was all it took to drag her attention back to the sexy man in front of her.

"Where you sleep."

Rio said nothing. His face still holding a smirk as he grabbed her hand, positioned himself behind her, and started guiding her towards his bedroom. It was then that he wondered why he hadn't brought her to his house before now. She looked good there, like she belonged. And he couldn't wait to see her in his bed. He wanted to taste her as she sank into his mattess and pillows, be reminded of it every time he slept there.

His hands were warm on her hips, gently squeezing them on their way to his bedroom. Rio leaned down and kissed the side of Beth's neck. She could feel his hardening cock against her ass. This man turned her on more than anyone else ever has. Every contact with him was still thrilling for Beth.

They walked through his open bedroom door and Beth took in the room. The walls were painted a light grey, his bedspread was black with dark grey and red pillows. The bed frame and headboard were black. Beth smiled when she noticed a string of white pearls hanging on the side of his headboard.

Rio was kissing her neck from behind her, his arms more firmly around her waist, "So that's what your grandma was talking about."

Rio paused what he was doing and made the funniest face Beth had ever seen on him.

"Baby, do me a favor, never mention my abuela when we're about to have sex."

Beth laughed, "No, my pearls."

Rio followed her eyeline to the string of pearls he put on his headboard the night that he found them.

" _My_ pearls." He said, his tone sounded both amused and possessive. "You gave em to me, 'member?"

She just smiled again, "sure I did."

Rio lifted his face from her neck again. He crooked an eyebrow at her, "you wanna take em back?"

His voice wasn't challenging, although she could hear the double meaning.

Beth turned around in his arms and kissed him firmly on the lips.

"Nope."

Their kiss led to many more and before they knew it, Rio was chasing the taste of her between her legs as she writhed in his soft bedsheets.

* * *

Thankfully Rio had solid black curtains in his room that blocked the light entirely. Beth was the first to wake up. She looked at her phone and saw what time it was. She had to pick her kids up in about an hour.

Her movements must have stirred Rio. He had managed to splay out next to her in his sleep and he rolled to drape his body over hers.

"'mornin." His voice was rough from sleep. He kissed the side of her mouth.

"Hi," she said sleepily.

"You busy today?" She asked him.

Rio yawned widely, "nah."

Beth looked at Rio for a few seconds and studied his handsome face.

"Do you want to come with me to pick up my kids this morning?"

His face was neutral before he broke out in a small smile. "Today's the day?"

She laughed remembering their conversation about him meeting her kids. He told her he wanted to meet them. Seemed excited even. He had helped her son with his math homework when they first started working together but that wasn't him trying to get to know her kids. That was Rio delivering a warning that if he ever wanted to, he could hurt her family with very little effort.

It amazed her that one point in time she would have done anything to him if he ever came near her children again. And now she was excited for them to officially meet him. She couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity.

"What's so funny?"

"Just that we started this with you scaring me in my yard with my son and now I'm excited to introduce you to all my kids now."

Rio stretched on top of her like a cat in the sun, putting more weight on her but not too much to crush her.

"What can I say, I grow on people. S'cause I'm lovable."

Beth let out her loudest laugh yet at that.

In retaliation Rio grabbed her by the waist, flipped them over so he was on top, and started sucking her neck.

"You tryin' ta say I'm not?"

His kisses were starting to tickle, causing her to laugh harder.

* * *

They showered at his house and she changed into the spare outfit she brought with her.

They drove to where her kids were and waited as they all piled into her van. Her oldest tried to climb into the passenger seat but stopped when he saw Rio sitting there.

Recognition crossed the young boy's face when he realized who Rio was. His face lit up, "Hey! I know you, you helped me with my math homework."

Rio put on his charming smile, "yeah, that's me. How's it comin along?"

Her son buckled up in the back of her van.

"You were more helpful than my teacher, that's for sure."

Rio laughed softly, "anytime you need help, just ask. I love math."

"Thanks!" Her son replied happily.

"Mommy?" Came Emma's sweet little voice.

"Yes baby?"

She put her van in drive and started driving them to one of her favorite cafes for breakfast.

"Who's that?"

Beth swallowed, feeling only slightly nervous. She knew Rio had won over her oldest son but officially explaining to all of her children who Rio was was something that she knew she had to do as simply as possible. She was worried how they would take it knowing that their mom was with someone that wasn't their dad. Her children had no idea what Dean had done. For all they knew, their parents had just suddenly decided not to be together anymore.

"This is Rio, baby. He's mommy's friend."

Rio looked over at her, lips turned in a half smile. She glared at him for a second before cracking into a smile herself. _Give me a break_ , she thought to herself.

"Oh," Emma said. "I'm Emma!" She chirped at Rio.

"Hey darlin', it's nice to meet you." Came his rumbled reply.

And one by one each of her kids introduced themselves to the cool guy sitting in their mom's van's passenger's seat.

No titles were mentioned, no one had any awkward questions, just polite introductions. Beth's heart couldn't help but swell at how sweet and non-judgmental her children were. They never commented on Rio's appearance, they were all just excited to let Rio know who they were.

When they got to the cafe she helped her youngest kids out of the van and Rio held the restaurant's door open for her and her family. As each of them passed him he thought about how he could see these people being _his_ family one day. He meant it when he told Beth that she was his and he was hers. And that included her kids. He'd be there for them as much as she'd let him. He knew that nothing happened all at once. It took time for him and Beth to reach that point in their relationship and it'd probably take even longer for her kids to warm up to him and be able to trust him. He'd work on his relationship with her children as hard as he'd work on his relationship with Beth.

They all sat down at a large table and ordered their breakfast. Beth found it so cute when Emma insisted on being the one who got to sit on the other side of Rio.

To Beth's relief their first meeting with each other went really well. All of the kids wanted to talk to Rio. Kenny asked him about his eagle tattoo on his neck and if it hurt when he got it done.

"It wasn't the best feeling in the world but I shut my eyes and before I knew it, it was over."

Kenny told him how cool it looked. He looked over at his mom and before he could even ask,

"No." Beth simply said, a smile on her face.

Kenny only looked disappointed for a few seconds before Rio spoke up,

"Ya know nowadays it's more original _not_  to have tattoos. Almost everybody seem to have em now." His eyes flickered to Beth for a second, remembering the crescent moon and stars she had on the top part of her ass. He remembered laughing hard when she told him she had gotten it when she was nineteen with Ruby. They had drank some wine coolers, got tipsy, and managed to convince a tattoo artist to give them both matching tattoos even though they were both giggly as fuck.

This segued to them finishing their breakfasts with light conversation. Her kids didn't ask Rio many questions that couldn't be answered with simple responses until,

"How do you know our mom?"

Her second oldest son asked.

Beth's eyebrows went up for a second. She was about to answer for Rio until he did it himself.

"Your mom and I met while we were both shopping one day. She helped me pick out a present for my abuela."

"What's that?" Her son asked.

Kenny answered for Rio, "it means grandma."

"Very good," Rio said, impressed that he knew that.

Kenny beamed at the praise. "I wanna learn Spanish soon."

Now Rio even _looked_ impressed.

"I'd be happy to teach you whenever you want." He offered.

Beth had the ridiculous urge to grab Rio's face and smother him in kisses. She loved how well he was fitting in with her kids. She loved how fast her kids seemed to warm up to him. She was only a little worried that they might have been frightened by him or asked questions that she wouldn't have been able to answer. Despite not wanting to divulge the criminal nature of their relationship to her children, she still didn't want to blatantly lie to them.

Beth sat back in her chair and watched as her kids and Rio continued to eat their breakfast and talk amongst themselves. She was happy to watch her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope the update didn't disappoint! Thank you so much for reading!


	15. Risks

"You want me to what?"

Beth was watching Rio as he moved around her kitchen. Ever since she introduced him to her children, she's noticed how he's come to her house much more often now. How he's managed to make himself even more at home. He knew where she kept all of her dishes, her spices. Hell he even stocked up her pantry for her and probably knew her kitchen better than she did now.

"Just deliver a truck for me."

"To where?" She asked. She could feel herself getting hungrier with every ingredient he added to the pot on her stove.

"And what's in it?"

Rio was standing in front of her stove, hands midair about to slide in the minced garlic. He turned his head to look at her once before going back to sliding in the garlic.

"Not important."

Beth scoffed.

Rio looked at her again, amusement on his face.

"You're telling me that you want me to drive a truck. To some random location. When I have no idea what it contains?"

"Mhmm."

He laughed when she mimicked him.

"You're lucky you're pretty."

Beth would have gutted a man if he ever talked to her that way. She knew she wasn't exactly a super model, even more so after having her children, but she knows what it feels like to be objectified by men. If it came from anyone other than Rio she probably would have slapped him for reducing her to her looks. But it just made her want to grab his face by her hands and slam their mouths together.

She advanced on him without a word and did exactly that.

"No. You're lucky I seem to have a thing for tattooed, money laundering criminals." Her lips brushing against his with every word.

He chuckled softly against her mouth.

"Just make sure I'm the only one."

Just like that, the heat of his body pressed up against hers was gone and the room suddenly felt much colder.

"So you'll do it?"

"What?" He distracted her and he bloody well knew it.

"Drive the truck."

"You still haven't told me what's in it."

"And I'm not going to."

Beth was suddenly tired of their little back-and-forth game. They didn't come this far for him not to trust her. She trusted him around her children for pete's sake. They practically promised themselves to the other and he was trying to pull this shit? It felt so much like their relationship from the very beginning. And she hated it.

"No."

He placed a glass lid over the pot and turned to face her completely.

"No?"

"Yes, I said no. Especially when you won't even tell me what the hell is in it. And why can't one of your employees do it?"

She had gotten to know him very well since they first met. She could read most of his facial expressions and know exactly what he was feeling behind them.

So when he raised his eyebrows at her and twisted his mouth just so, she knew exactly what he was implying.

"Don't even say it. I am not one of your employees. And if you imply that I am one more time, I may add another ingredient to that pot. And you won't like it."

She brought her point home by glancing down at his pants.

This earned her another laugh from Rio. Even when he was pissing her off, his laughs still made her smile. She was so screwed.

"I am a colleague. A colleague who accepts your product and turns it around for profit."

He smirked at her. One of his kinder smirks.

"Is that right?"

He walked up to her and placed his hands on both of her hips. She leveled him with a look. He held her stare for a long while before licking his lips and nodding once, face still playful and handsome.

"Colleague."

His tone sounded neutral, like he was agreeing with her. And he was. Rio saw her as his equal. He'll admit that she didn't start out that way but they definitely were equals now.

He'd go to his grave before saying it out loud but in a lot of ways she held more power than him. Mainly because of the power that she had _over_ him.

"Thank you."

They were nothing if not respectful to one another. That was one thing Beth loved most about their relationship. Rio made it no secret that he respected her.

But evidently he didn't seem to trust her enough to tell her what was in he damn truck. So she held her ground.

"A colleague that's not driving your truck. So good luck with that."

Rio's smile slid down to a grimace.

"Not even when it's a favor to me?"

"Tell me what's in it and I'll consider it."

"What if one of your girls drives it."

Beth's face was incredulous. "You think I'd let one of them do it if even I'm not willing to do it?"

"Please."

She tried to think if Rio had ever said _please_ to her when it came to business and she couldn't recall it. He said please quite a lot during sex but this was a first.

"35%"

"What?"

"If I do this, you raise our cut to 35%."

She got a kick out of making his jaw tick. If he wanted to give her a _job_ , then he'd make it worth her time.

"That's a lot." He said easily, already knowing he'd agree.

"You said yourself that you normally pay 30. Well we're three people, gotta make it stretch."

He laughed quietly, impressed with her guile. He was taken with her more and more every day.

"Fine."

"And just to let you know, if I get arrested, I know who my one phone call is going to be."

He wanted to tell her that she wouldn't get arrested. He wanted to tell her that the truck was going to be empty. No crime. No way for her to get into any kind of trouble. At least not for driving an empty truck. The truck wouldn't even be stolen. But he knew that only he could know all of that. Not even Carlos knew. He had to test the kid. He had to test everyone in his ring. He trusted Beth but he knew her friend was married to a cop.

Instead he just smiled at her.

"Me?"

He was only half kidding. He wanted to be the first person she'd call if she ever needed help or was in trouble.

"Rosa."

His face stretched with shock and Beth laughed so loud that she was afraid the neighbors could hear.

"My abuela?" He sounded scandalized.

"You should try clutching your pearls next time, make it a little more dramatic"

A second of silence hit the kitchen before they both laughed.

"Why her?"

"Because if your scrawny ass lands me in jail for this stupid truck then I'm calling her and letting her know about it. Maybe she'll whack her pie pan over your butt."

Rio made a straight, unimpressed face.

"No more hanging out with my abuela. She tells you too many stories of my childhood."

Beth laughed again. She hadn't laughed so much with one person that wasn't her sister or Ruby in such a long time.

"So that a yes, then?"

Cutting right to the point.

"35% and I have her number memorized." And she was completely serious.

* * *

"I'm driving a truck for Rio to this address."

She handed the paper with the address on it to Ruby.

"I'm going by myself and I need you to know about everything in case anything happens."

"Rio would actually let you do something that could get you arrested? ...other than money laundering. After the changes in your relationship?"

Ruby sounded skeptical. She still wasn't a hundred percent on board with Beth's relationship with Rio.

"That's the thing. I don't think he'd set me up like that. I'm not even sure if there's anything even illegal about this."

"So then why can't one of his cronies do it?" Ruby countered.

"He said they'd get profiled before they even made it a mile."

Ruby was silent for a few seconds. She empathized with them on that front. But that still didn't mean that that wasn't just a flimsy excuse.

"And it's gonna be just you?"

"No sense in all of us doing it."

Ruby looked down at the piece of paper in her hands.

* * *

There they all were. Each in their own truck with one of them containing only God knew what. ...and Rio.

The girls dropped Beth off at the designated pick-up area for the truck that was to be delivered at the address given to her but Rio.

"As soon as I see the fuzz, we're singing like canaries."

"The fuzz, Annie?" Beth asked at the same time that Ruby said,

"And what are we gonna say? 'We're sorry officer, these thugs didn't like it when we stole their money and we've been working for them ever since, arrest them, not us?'"

A beat of silence, "Maybe they'll have sympathy?"

Beth sighed. "It'll be fine. I'll drive it to the location and leave from there. We're not speeding, there should be no reason for anyone to pull me over."

Of course Beth should have known not to say that. And of course a cop would pull her over and want to see inside. Her heart was beating so fast in her chest. Of all of the things that she's done up to this point. To be arrested over a stupid truck that she didn't even want to drive in the first place. For an increase in money that she'll now probably never get to benefit from after being arrested for hauling whatever illegal thing that was being transported. Fucking Rio.

They opened the back of the truck to find that it was empty. She took a chance and played slightly indignant with the cop. Told her that it wasn't every day that she was pulled over and told to open up her vehicle. The whole thing was so anti-climactic yet she was burning with anger. She took a risk, could have been caught transporting anything and Rio didn't even trust her to tell her that it was empty.

Beth was extremely glad that the truck was empty. Especially after having to open it for a cop. But what the hell was the point of this? Was Rio testing her? She knew he had some trust issues but they were supposed to be past this. He couldn't even trust her to tell her that she'd be driving an empty truck?

Looking back on it, Beth realized that she may have been overreacting somewhat. It might have been the combination of coming so close to being arrested and losing her freedom and realizing that Rio may not trust her as much as she deserves. Whether justified or not, Beth was heated and she wasn't just going to do _nothing_ about it.

* * *

"See, wasn't that hard, yeah?"

Rio asked her as he met her halfway in front of the warehouse.

"What the hell was the point of that?"

Beth wanted to keep her voice in check but was finding it difficult. She knew that sometimes when she was angry her voice could go up so high it'd sound shrill and ridiculous. But she was running on adrenaline and anger.

Rio didn't answer her. His face remained impassive and waited for her to explain.

"The truck was empty. And I nearly got arrested!"

"Exactly. _Nearly_. Because it was _empty_ , you didn't."

"Was this some sort of _test_?" She hissed the last word.

He shrugged one shoulder before putting his hands in his pockets.

"Sort of."

Her eyes went wide. "What the fuck, Rio?"

His eyebrows bunched in the middle, "Why are you mad? Nothing happened."

"I don't care about that. Why were you testing me? You don't get to do that."

As if he were trying to piss her off more, Rio laughed quietly to himself.

"I wasn't testin' _you,_ darlin'."

"I was just your pawn?"

Rio inhaled long and slowly. "Sweet heart, you helped, that's all. You weren't a pawn. You weren't bein' tested. You just helped me."

"To do what? Who were you testing?"

Rio didn't answer her right away. His eyes looked away from hers and to the side. She could see a shadow fall over his face, see how his body tensed just a little.

For the first time, Rio didn't want her to know what he would do to those who betrayed him. Not because he thought that she'd ever betray him but because he just didn't want her to know that side of him.

This was business. There were people's _lives_ at stake here. Somebody go runnin' to the cops with the right information and a lot of people could go to prison. It may not be the ideal job but this kind of work feeds a lot of mouths. He's got a lot of people who work for him that have kids and families of their own. Families who rely on them. Families who would drown if their bread winner got locked up. It's a necessary evil to eliminate a few if it saves hundreds.

He's not exactly proud of it but it must be done. Now, with Beth looking at him like that, he didn't want to tell her any of it. He wanted her to see him as the man that can eat breakfast with her and her kids and trust him with them a hundred percent. Not as the man that could kill a young man because he talked too much.

"What did you do?" She asked him.

Her voice was much quieter now. She started to put the pieces together and she was afraid of the picture they were making. Beth was no longer angry at Rio, she was worried.

"I had a kid. FBI got to him. Had to see what he'd tell 'em."

The silence between them was so thick that Beth would have said anything to break it.

"Cops didn't swarm your truck so he must've left that part out."

Just like that, anger filled her once more.

Beth slowly closed the distance between them. Her eyes blazing. Her calm voice broke the silence.

"You mean to tell me," she said slowly, "that you were willing to let me drive a truck that could have been watched and surrounded by a bunch of FBI and police cars?"

"An empty truck. They couldn't have charged you with anything."

"It doesn't fucking matter, Rio!" She exploded.

"The fucking FBI could have known to watch out for a truck that _I_ was driving. A truck that was tied to _you_. Empty or not, Rio, that would have put me on their radar. Given them a reason to suspect that I'm in some sort of business with you. I don't need that!"

Her words sank into Rio like an anchor in his stomach. His anger wasn't as obvious on his face like hers was.

"Then why are you in business with me? Why are you with me? You ain't got immunity, darlin'."

He continued before she had a chance to answer.

"You in this. Your hands ain't clean. I told you. They didn't have anything on you. But you bein' in this business comes with risks. You bein' with _me_ , comes with risks. If you don't want that, if you don't wanna be tied to me, then get out now. I ain't got time for someone who's gonna change their mind 'cause they too scared to accept the risks that come with it."

His words shocked her enough to halt whatever words were going to come out of her mouth. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't even say anything when she watched him turn around and walk into the warehouse. She wasn't sure what just happened.


	16. Annie and Carlos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "...If you don't want that, if you don't wanna be tied to me, then get out now. I ain't got time for someone who's gonna change their mind 'cause they too scared to accept the risks that come with it."

A few days after their fight led to a week, two weeks.

Annie scanned the small restaurant until she found what she was looking for. The place was filled with natural lighting and the food smelled amazing.

She walked over to where Rio was sitting and took the chair in front of him. He sat at a small table for two by himself eating chicken parmesan.

She immediately plucked a garlic bread stick from its basket as she sat down.

"Thanks for meeting me."

She said in greeting as she gnawed on her bread stick.

"Was gonna try this place anyway."

Rio hadn't looked up from his food since she sat down.

Annie didn't say anything at first, just watched as he ate his food.

She sighed deeply, and maybe a little dramatically, before saying,

"You two are ridiculous."

Rio just swallowed his food before digging in for more.

"'scuse me?"

Feeling bolder, she took the extra fork from its black cloth napkin and stole a piece of his chicken.

"I said," chew, "you two are being ridiculous."

This got him to finally look up at her.

"You lost your damn mind?"

There was no heat behind his words though. Ever since Annie had learned about her sister's relationship with Rio, and how well he warmed up to her kids, she wasn't as scared of him anymore.

"No, have you?"

Rio just shook his head and went back to eating.

Annie rolled her eyes before eating another bread stick.

"You eat the last bread stick and I'mma have the chef cook _you_."

"I bet I'd be delicious." She said delightfully as she licked the garlic and butter from her fingers.

Rio heard Carlos chuckle from behind him. He turned around slightly to look at him,

"Yuk it up."

Rio looked back at and watched as Annie went for the last bread stick. He raised his eyebrows.

Annie saw a level of maliciousness that only a lust for food could bring about. She dropped the stick immediately.

"Fine," she threw her hands up in surrender.

"Back to the point. What did you do to my sister?"

 She stared at him, waiting for an answer. He was already focused on his food again.

"We're not doing this, Annie."

His tone left no room for argument.

She knew Beth had a good influence on him but she still didn't want to press her luck too much.

"Fine. But she's upset too, ya know."

He raised a brow at her.

"She's sad."

Was all Annie said before she hopped up out of her chair and took the last bread stick with her.

As if to spite him further, she held eye contact with him as she broke it in half and shared it with Carlos. Who happily munched it down.

Rio let the fork in his hand collapse onto the plate with a _clank_. He heaved a big sigh and stretched back in his chair.

"Mm mm mm." Came from behind him.

Rio didn't even look back, just muttering,

"Sassy motherfucker."

Rio didn't like to hear about his woman being sad. He was pissed and still stung from their fight but he never wanted to know that she was anything other than happy.

He meant what he said about not wanting to waste time with someone who wasn't a hundred percent in it with him. And even if things didn't work out between them, he loved her too much not to try to make her happy.

* * *

Rio gave her front door two quick knocks.

He stood on her porch while he waited for Beth to answer.

The door opened to reveal little Emma eating a chocolate chip cookie.

"Hey sweetie," Rio greeted her.

"Next time, don't answer the door without someone with you, okay?"

"Okay. D'ya wanna come in?"

He smiled down at her, "Where's your mom?"

"She's in the backyard. Ya wanna see her?"

"Sure."

He followed her through the house but stopped in the kitchen to grab a cookie.

When he got to the backyard he saw Beth on her knees in front of her garden.

Rio had pictured the next time that he'd find her on her knees in front of him and it didn't have anything to do with digging up dirt.

He stood far back enough from her that she didn't notice him right away.

Finally Beth glanced in his direction when she heard some crunching.

He saw her eyes look towards him and frowned when she immediately went back to what she was doing.

_Sad my ass._

He sighed to himself before walking up to where she was kneeling.

When Beth still didn't say anything, he sighed again.

"Are you just gonna stand there breathing loudly?" _And stealing cookies._

"You just gonna kneel there and ignore me?"

She finally looked up at him and gave as good of a glare as she could.

"Kinda like how you left and have ignored me ever since?"

Rio's brows furrowed together. _The fuck was she talkin' about?_

"I've never ignored you."

"What do you call the last two weeks?"

She had to stop looking at him from this angle. It had been over two weeks since she had sex and even being eye level with his pants was tempting for her. So she went back to digging up dirt for her tomatoes.

"We were angry. _Both_ of us. We needed time to cool down."

"I didn't _need_ any time."

Rio watched her hair as it shone in the sunlight. He knew first hand how soft her hair was. Especially when he nuzzled against it with his face. Everything about her was distracting and it was becoming a problem now.

"What would you have said, then? We say things we regret when we're angry."

She looked up at him again at that, "Like how you don't have time for someone like me?"

This woman drove him crazy. He breathed in slowly and let it out through his nose. Rio held out his hand to her hoping she'd take it.

Beth looked at it for a second before deflating a little, took his hand, and let him help her up.

He didn't let go of her hand, "That isn't what I said and you know that."

Beth was still upset over the whole thing. She was less angry about the truck and more so about the silence for the last two weeks. Rio had a hell of a way of icing her out when he was mad and she was sick of it.

_Narrator: Even though the phone works both ways and she could have_ just _as easily called him too. But she didn't._

"I'm not going to change my mind about this. I was angry and I still think that I had a right to be angry. You didn't clue me in on your plans and if you would have just done that from the start, none of this would have happened."

Rio could tell that she still had more to say so he remained quiet as she got it all out.

"I felt blindsided and I exploded. But that doesn't mean that I'm too scared to be in your world. I love you and you don't have to worry about me deciding one day that it's not for me. Cause it is. _You_ are and I'm happy with that. That's not gonna change."

There it was. Their first _I love you_.

And it came after their biggest fight. Of course it did.

He squeezed her hand once, "I love you too."

Beth melted at that. God she missed him.

Their kiss was as enthusiastic as their very first one was. Probably too enthusiastic for her backyard but who could blame her with the way he was pressing the front of his body against hers. Rio's hands loved to roam her body and they didn't stop all the way from the tops of the back of her thighs to her ass to her hips.

She laughed against his lips, "Baby, we're outside. My kids are in the house."

His hands fell to her hips and he kissed her one last time before pulling away.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you why I needed you to drive it for me."

Beth just glanced at him as she knelt back down to garden.

"I promise you that I won't keep things from you anymore."

"I understand that this business is dangerous and risky. But I just want to _try_ and stay under the radar as much as I can. And I'd think that you'd want the same too. Wasn't it you that said, 'I ain't goin' to prison for some housewife bitches'?"

She tried to drop her voice to Rio's tone when she mimicked him.

He laughed to himself, "Somethin' like that."

He could say what he wanted but Beth totally nailed that impression.

"I get your point, though."

Rio decided that he liked to watch her as she worked her garden. She was on her knees and it gave him the perfect view of her chest. Which he missed. The last two weeks weren't only miserable for him but they were painful too. He needed some love bad.

"You done playin' in the dirt?"

She smirked at him, knowing where his eyes were.

"My kids are in the house," she reminded him.

He groaned quietly and stretched his head up and back a little, arching his back some.

"They gotta sleep some time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm having so much fun writing this story. Thank you guys so much for sticking with me and reading it. I think as long as people still follow it, I'll try to add to it. I really like where their relationship is and it's fun to try and incorporate what little the show gave us and give it some flavor.  
> Let me know what you guys think, I always LOVE to hear from you, it makes my day.


	17. Besties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, ...Carlos and Annie! Just a short, little thing.

"Dis stuff's medieeval daaahlin'."

Drawled Carlos' baritone voice.

Annie's laugh could be heard throughout the house.

"Yes! Yes! You nailed it!"

She popped a piece of popcorn in her mouth and said while chewing, "ooh, and don't forget," and she lowers her voice to a rasp,

'You think you a boss now, huh? You ain't no boss until you get yo house in order'."

"Man, I love him but damn, sometimes it sounds like he picks these lines out of a Marlon Brando movie."

Annie leaned over and grabbed some of the cheetos from the bag in Carlos' hand.

"He _wishes_. Brando was such a little hottie in his day. With that sharp, rugged jaw, pretty wide smile, and them eyes. Mm. There's a really popular GIF of young-him smiling and every time I see it my insides just melt all over."

Carlos laughs a little more.

"Yeah, my wife loves his movies from when he was younger. I was worried there for a minute that she'd end up calling our baby Stella."

Annie nearly chokes on a cheeto, "Aww, little Lina would have had so many, _STELLAs_ screamed at her."

"How'd you guys decide on Lina? It's such a pretty name, and it suits her."

"Mini Marlon chose the name."

He laughed at the look Annie gave him. It was her, _what the hell?_ look.

"Yeah. He found out Paloma was pregnant and started giving us a bunch of things for the baby. One of them being an engraved musical box that sang lullabies. It was his mom's. Her name was Lina. Told us he wanted our baby girl to have it 'cause he knew his mama would've loved my baby like she was her own. Musical box says _Lina_. It was a no brainer."

Annie was speechless. Who knew.

"Well damn. Now our Rio impressions aren't that funny."

Carlos looked at her for a moment as he snacked on some gummy bears.

"Nahh, homie's still trippin'."

"Daddy, will you please stop moving so much?", came Lina's polite little voice from the floor.

She sat at Carlos' feet painting his toe nails a bright red color.

"Such a cute shade on you," Annie complimented as she pulled a twizzler between her teeth.

She grabbed a dark purple bottle and set it on the coffee table.

"You like this color, sweetie?"

Little Lina's tongue was sticking out from the side of her mouth and it was the cutest thing. She was concentrating hard on painting her dad's toe nails. She looked to the side and gave her nod of approval.

"You're gonna look so pretty!"

Annie preened at that before she heard Lina say,

"Uncle Rio likes that color on his nails too."

Carlos patted Annie's back as she choked on her cheetos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. I am just SO tickled to see Carlos added into other writer's fics. It makes me smile so wide and I just love it. I think that'd be so fabulous if the show incorporated more characters from Rio's side. He needs a friend to put him in his place a little bit. Especially when he's spouting that whole, "I'm the king", mishagosh. Those quoted lines of his are from the final scene of the finale and the lovely Botox scene.


	18. Passion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is still so fun to write. I'm trying to steer it in a certain direction so I hope you guys like it.

"Fuck, I missed you."

Breathed Rio from his side of Beth's bed. He was panting after their long session of make-up sex. His chest heaved up and down as he groped the top of Beth's thigh.

Beth lolled her head to look at him with a lazy smile.

"Missed you, too."

She spread her thighs wide for him. They had just made some of the hottest, wildest, most passionate love yet and she still wanted to feel his hands on her body. Their fight and the distance it created not only made her miss him but it made her _need_ him. She realized that she needed to see him regularly, hear his voice, talk to him. Just know that he was hers.

Beth was just about to move Rio's hand closer to where she wanted it before he rolled off of the bed and started walking towards the bathroom.

"Let's take a shower." Was all he said as he walked away from her.

She huffed quietly with a smile on her face before sliding off her bed to follow him.

As soon as Beth walked into the bathroom she saw Rio's naked body already under the water.

"Damn," she breathed.

Rio smirked at her from under the water. He ran his hands over his face and through his hair.

"You gonna get in or what?"

"What if I just wanted to watch?"

She could hear his laugh, "Then I get to watch you touch yourself on our bed."

She answered him with her own laugh, "You already do that."

Beth started to climb in.

"Then I guess you might as well bring that fine ass in here anyways."

They both started to scrub themselves and each other with their body wash. It came to a surprise to Beth when she learned that Rio actually liked to wash her hair.

"I've had to do my niece's hair before, it's curly. You get used to it," was his only explanation.

When Beth had asked about his niece he simply replied, "Carlos' kid," and that was all there was to it. Beth fell that much more in love with him knowing he's done his young niece's hair and so often that he got good at it. She never would have expected that from the guy that first broke into her house.

Once they were done they both crashed back into her bed naked and curled up under her comforter.

Just as Beth was about to fall asleep in his arms she heard him say,

"What do you think about quitting?"

She was instantly confused.

"What?"

His sigh warmed the side of her neck.

"Look. I love that you wanted to come work for me. I get why you and your girls started washin' my money. And I was happy when you came back wantin' more cause it kept you close to me."

Beth looked up at him, still wrapped in his arms.

"And?"

"And now you don't have to. Annie and Ruby can keep doin' their thing but you don't need to clean my money anymore."

"I still need the money too, Rio. This house isn't gonna pay for itself. I have bills. Kids to feed, to clothe. I need an income for all of that. A _big_ income."

"You wanna keep this house? Done. Your kids need anything? Done. Name your bills and I'll take care of it."

He tangled his legs further with hers in bed.

Beth stared at him for a few seconds before laughing indignantly. "You're not serious."

Rio only gave her a flat stare as he rubbed one of his hands up her shoulder.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because that's insane!"

Rio honestly looked confused by Beth's reaction. He was always honest with her about him taking care of his own. As far as he was concerned, she one of his own moreso than anyone else. Her and her kids. They were his to take care of now. And he loved that. That's what he wanted. They were his family now for as long she wanted and he'd provide for them. Easy as that.

"How?"

"Because!" She was still smiling, amazed at how oblivious Rio seemed over this.

"We aren't your responsibility. You don't need to bail us out. I've been taking care of the bills really well since we went into business with you and I like that."

Rio finally separated himself from her body, just a few inches in the middle of them on her bed.

"Baby, you're family. You're _my_ family. You get that, right?"

Beth all but swooned over those words. She loved hearing them probably more than Rio would ever know. She loved that man and to hear him say that they were family was like music to her ears.

But what the hell does them being family have to do with her not working anymore. So she asked him as much.

"I support my family." Sometimes Rio was a man of very few words and at times like these, that drove her crazy.

"Okay. And you can support me by supporting my decision to keep washing money. It's good money and I have a plan. Twelve more months of this and I'll quit. Or however long you're keeping this business up."

She watched as his eyebrow quirked up.

"Don't," she warned.

He laughed, "Don't what?"

"Don't do whatever you're thinking. Just let it be. I'll keep working. You do your business/gang-deal thing and we'll be a family that has two working people in it."

His smile turned filthy at that. It was like hearing her talk domestic at him was his new favorite brand of dirty talk.

"Our family." He said again, ready to be stubborn about it if need be.

She rolled her eyes and smiled, "yes, dear."

Rio grabbed her close to him again.

He sat his chin on the top of her head,

"So you _like_ cleaning money?"

Beth looked towards the heavens. This man was like a dog with a bone.

"I like being self-sufficient."

Rio bent his head to inhale the scent of her hair and kiss her head, "But its grunt work."

Beth laughed at that and looked up at him.

"It's _shopping_."

Rio said nothing but a humming nose from above her.

"You wanna flip your game?"

She smiled, remembering that conversation on the playground.

"I tried with the Botox, remember?"

Rio just grunted once and squeezed his arms around her tighter. He still wasn't a fan of how she moved that shit.

"What are you passionate about?"

His question surprised her.

"Uh," she thought about it. She was passionate about a lot of things. Her kids, her sister and Ruby, being independent. Then she remembered what she liked to do back when she actually had the free time to do it.

"I like to paint."

"Good."

She turned around in Rio's arms fully to look at him, "Good?"

"Yeah. You wanna make money doin that?"

She laughed like he was saying crazy things again.

"How would I do that?"

"I know some people. Get your stuff seen. People'll buy it."

She laughed, "how do you know it's not garbage?"

"Because nothin' you make could be garbage."

Well that was sweet. She gave him a kiss before he said, "'sides, I already saw your little masterpiece of a schedule, 'member? Put a paintbrush in your hand and it'll be magic."

She thought about it for a moment before remembering what she kept in her closet.

Beth tried getting up but met some resistance from Rio's arms.

"I want to show you something."

He loosened his hold enough to let her get up. She opened her closet and dug around for what she was looking for.

Once she found it, she turned it around and showed Rio. It was an old painting that she did when she was pregnant with her first born. It had been so long that she almost had forgotten about it. She hadn't painted since. But damn if she didn't love it when she did do it.

The painting was of a little girl sitting at a piano. She took inspiration from Van Gogh's Starry Night because instead of the piano being black, it was colored in the magnificent colors and patterns of the sky in Van Gogh's piece.

The back ground was dark and thunderous with the piano as the source of light and color.

She looked over at Rio and studied his face. He looked at it like he was debating something.

"Well?"

He kept scowling for another second before his face loosened up.

"We're keeping that one cause it's fuckin perfect but if you keep paintin like that then you ain't gotta worry about no one buyin' it."

She smiled wide, "You think?"

"Yeah, baby." He reached out for her after she set the picture down against the wall. "You wanna paint again?"

"Well, ...yeah. I've missed it. I had so much fun doing that one. I've done more but Dean threw the rest out."

Rio scowled again, "fucker."

She laughed and held his head against her chest before leaning down to kiss the crown of his head.

"So what? I paint and you sell them?"

Rio looped his arms around her waist and pulled her in between his legs from where he sat on the edge of their bed.

"You paint. Whatever and whenever you want. As long as you're happy. And if you want, I'll make sure the right people see em and they'll sell themselves."

She massaged his head as she thought about it. He kissed in between her breasts.

"While I keep washing your money."

He buried his face between them and laughed quietly.

His voice was muffled by her chest but she could hear perfectly, "yes, dear."

* * *

After their conversation, Beth hadn't heard another word about it from Rio. She appreciated where he was coming from, she really did. Especially now that she knew he considered it to be grunt work but she was happy doing it. Just as long as things kept going as smoothly as they did.

Their system was stronger than ever. They stopped doing their secret shopper angle and went back to just the three of them. Now that they were getting a bigger cut of the profits, they could afford to scale back how much they washed. It was too much of a nuisance worrying about those other shoppers anyways.

Particularly Mary Pat. Once Boomer made it obvious to her what kind of a creep he was, (before he was _tragically_ mugged and killed), she saw the girls in a different light. Beth told her their situation and agreed to one last large pay out to help her and her kids. Beth also happened to have Carlos and another of Rio's men with her when she met Mary Pat for the last time. Beth didn't say anything, just made it obvious that the two men were with her and pointedly told her that this would be the last that they'd ever see of each other.

She wasn't crazy about bringing them with her but Rio swore to her that he wouldn't do anything to Mary Pat. But told Beth that she needed to start putting the fear of God into her rotten egg if she didn't want Rio stepping in. So they compromised.

Much like their current arrangement. Apparently she'd continue washing money as long as she liked while she also made time to paint. Which definitely wasn't a hardship for her as she loved painting.

Although Beth was a _little_ surprised when she walked into her house one afternoon and was greeted with the smell of chocolate chip cookies.

She walked into the kitchen to see Rio in an apron cooking alongside Emma, who was wearing a matching apron with smudges of flour on her cheek.

"Mommy!"

She smiled widely at the sight.

"Hi, sweetie, you two baking cookies?"

Emma nodded her head proudly, "And sopapilla cheesecake bars!"

Beth's brows went up, "wow! That's a big word! And it sounds delicious."

"Rio's abello taught him how, now he's teaching me!"

Rio smiled at her and gently said, "Abuela, baby."

Emma just grinned at him before popping a chocolate chip in her mouth.

Beth leaned over and kissed Rio once on the mouth.

"You spoil her," Beth whispered as she smiled at him.

Rio just shrugged once before going back to prepping the cheesecake bars.

Beth joined them as they cooked and together they finished two batches of chocolate chip cookies and the best cheesecake that she's ever had.

When they were finished Emma ran off to play with her siblings and Rio took Beth's hand and guided her to where Dean's old office was. They had cleared out all of his stuff and for the time being it just sat there, empty and unused.

That was until Beth opened the door and found what appeared to be a mini arts and crafts store in it.

Her mouth was open as she took in everything in the room. And it was _a lot_.

Several easels stacked against one another against a wall, shades and shades of different types of paints, a large desk with several drawers that when opened revealed paintbrushes in assorted sizes and textures.

She even found professional grade charcoal pencils and other art supplies outside of painting. And it all looked expensive. She didn't even know where to begin.

"Wow."

Rio stood beside her quietly, letting her roam around the room. "You like it?"

She turned to look at him, "This must have cost you a fortune."

He shrugged a shoulder, face remaining passive. "Nah. You like it?"

 _'Nah_ , he says', she thought to herself.

"I love it. I didn't think you meant that you'd buy me half of Hobby Lobby though."

Rio scoffed, "That place wishes they could carry stuff this good. I wanted you to have whatever you needed."

She moved to hug him tightly, "Thank you," she said in his ear.

Rio just raised his arms around her and hugged her back.

"I fixed the lock on the door, too. Now you can practice painting nudes. I'll be your model."

He grinned at her before starting to strip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think? I'm not trying to make Rio into a person that doesn't want his lady working, not at all. He thinks her ambition is sexy and wants it to grow. He just doesn't know how to balance that with his need to take care of her.


	19. Besties part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Adventures of Carlos and Annie!:  
> How it all started

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So these two have gotten some love and I couldn't resist exploring their friendship so here it goes. Hopefully it's entertaining to you guys. I love writing them.

_It goes like this..._

The night that Rio found Boomer with Annie, he and Carlos saved her from being assaulted _again_  by that fucker. Carlos heard her say how Boomer had tried to rape her before and that made killing him easy. Carlos had a young daughter and even before having Lina, he always hated rapists. And after having a daughter of his own, he hated them even more. If he could rid the world of another, he'd gladly do it. The little Linas of the world should never have to worry about that.

So Carlos immediately grew a fondness for Annie. He respected her scrappiness that night and how she fought against that asshole.

He went to Fine & Frugal one day and threw a Snickers bar on the conveyor belt that Annie was working at.

She looked up at the noise and about had a heart attack when she saw him.

"Jesus, you scared me!" She gasped as she slapped her hand on her chest.

She recognized this guy as the one that was always with Rio. You couldn't forget a large bald dude with tattoos all over his scalp and neck.

He snickered at her reaction before saying,

"Carlos. Wanted to check on you."

Annie was balls out terrified. This guy done killed Boomer, which she was _very_ grateful for, but now came back to the scene of the crime to, what? Ensure her silence? Well these guys didn't have to worry about a thing. She wasn't saying a word about nothing to nobody. They could get Ryan Gosling in here to lick her whole body to bribe her for info and she wouldn't say a word. Maybe a moan with the right spots but not a confession, nosir.

"Look man. Mum's the damn word. I didn't see anything. And I know even less. I ate Panda Express that night and minded my own business."

Carlos just stared at her as she rambled.

Then he laughed. Smile wide and he even had to wipe the corner of one of his eyes. This chick was alright.

Annie was confused now. She didn't even know that this guy could _smile_ , much less laugh. She knew he could push a gun to her temple though and that was all she needed to know.

"Are we good here? I ain't sayin' nothin'. You guys don't have to worry about anything."

His smile faded into something softer as he tried to reassure her. Carlos wasn't an idiot. He knew he looked like one scary motherfucker to certain people. And after what he's done to Annie, because of Rio, he doesn't blame her for being scared.

"I didn't come down here for that. You went through something traumatic. Just wanted to make sure you were okay."

When she didn't say anything, he added with a smile,

"And I wanted some chocolate." He glanced down at the snickers.

Annie blinked owlishly at him.

"Uh, I- um, thank you. I guess."

Surely there was more to this visit. Maybe they wanted her to earn her keep somehow and help dispose of the body. It had just happened so maybe they still needed a way to get rid of it. Her house was not going to be the one to keep a vat of acid with Boomer's rotting corpse in it. To hell with that.

"My apartment's too small to keep a body in it, no matter how many pieces it's in," she whispered to him.

He made a noise of amusement at her, smile still in place.

"Then it's a good thing we don't need that."

They looked at each other for another brief moment before Carlos broke the silence.

"You look like you're okay. Anybody else ever give you any problems, you let me know. Good night."

He tossed a five on the belt, grabbed his candy bar, and gave her a nod before walking away.

Annie watched with her mouth open as he walked out the sliding doors.

_The hell?_

She left her register to follow him outside.

"Yo!"

Carlos turned around. This little one was entertaining.

"Yes?"

She stopped walking when she stood in front of him, tattoos in full glory.

"So you really just wanted to see if I was okay?"

A part of her was still skeptical.

"Yup. I got your back. You remind me of my kid. She's a lot like you. She's scrappy. I'd want somebody lookin' out for her if I couldn't."

He told her to be safe before turning around to leave.

"You have a daughter?"

Annie's question made him turn back around.

Carlos smiled when he thought of Lina.

"Yeah, she's seven. Her name's Lina."

She should have known that these people were still people despite what they do and look like but she was still shocked that he had a family. A part of her imagined that Rio and his men were just scary loners who came out of pods one day for the sheer purpose of scaring people and making money.

"That's pretty."

Carlos already had his phone pulled out and showed her a picture of Lina.

Annie smiled, "she's beautiful."

"Thanks. And sweet, too. You got a kid, too, right?"

Annie ignored the slight shiver she got when he already knew of her kid. _Try to trust the guy_ , she told herself.

"Yeah," she stuttered out. "Her name's Sadie. She's awesome."

"She know you _shoppin'_ for Rio?"

Annie let out a loud sigh.

"No, and she can't ever know. As far as she's concerned, her mom's earning money the _honest_ way being the ideal citizen."

At this Carlos raised his eyebrows.

"I know. It's hilarious, right? I'm currently in the middle of a custody battle and if anyone gets wind of even an unpaid parking ticket, I'm screwed. Didn't help that that jackass planted drugs on me, the dick."

"The kid's father?" Carlos asked.

Annie let out a humorless laugh, "no, Boomer."

"Dude's just gettin' better and better."

She scoffed, "no kidding."

"Is the dad an asshole?"

His question caught her by surprise. For Carlos, Annie was his homie now. Just like her sister. Beth was a part of Rio's family now so she was a part of Carlos'. He liked Annie and the two of them were sisters so the family would just grow and have the both of em.

"He can be a dick. Especially when he's pushing for full custody but he's good to Sadie. He may not understand her all the time but he's a good father."

Carlos made a distracted hum.

"If you ever need any leverage in that custody battle, just say the word."

And that was how Annie realized she had just made a friend in the gang. A large, tatted up gangster friend who had just killed her boss. Who pretty much just told her that all she had to do was give the green light and he'd do whatever in the world would be considered as  _leverage_.

She laughs nervously and thanks him.

"I doubt it'll ever come to that but thanks anyways. I'll uh, I'll keep that in mind."

He nods at her one last time and wishes her a good night and to be safe.

Annie heads back into the store and wonders what the custody lawyers would think about her growing collection of gang friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Their little snippets are gonna be kind of short, just a little snapshot of their shenanigans but I hope you guys enjoy them! I wanted to include how their friendship was born. Thoughts??? Any specific shenanigans y'all want to see this duo get up to?


	20. "Paintbrush"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Admittedly this is a bit cracky. ...heh, cracky. Y'all will get that by the end of this chapter ;)

"Fuck, fuck, yes!"

Beth screamed in her empty house save for her and Rio.

She ground down on the mouth beneath her pussy, forgetting that he may need to breathe at some point.

Rio didn't care how hard she was grinding against his tongue, he loved how she lost control because of him.

He slipped his tongue further inside of her and was met with a gush of liquid down his throat. Beth shifted her hips to increase the friction on her clit against his upper lip. She wanted his tongue to dig deeper and as much pressure on her clit as possible. She was seconds from hopping off of his mouth and on to his dick.

Rio felt her start to lift off of him so he wrapped his strong forearms around her thighs and made her sit back down on his face.

"Flood my mouth," he muttered around her cunt.

The vibrations from his deep voice hit the spot against her clit and she orgasmed on his face. She loved many things about Rio but his talented tongue and soft lips were some of her favorites.

Rio licked to his heart's content. He loved how sweet and tart she tasted. He ran his tongue over her hole repeatedly to gather all of her slick. Once all that he could taste was his own saliva, he experimented with another dig of his tongue into her pussy.

"Rio!" Beth screamed and breathed at once.

She rubbed his forearms and he loosened his grip enough to let her up.

"I love when you ride my face, baby," his voice husky.

She laughed to herself as she leant over to the bedside table to grab a towel. She handed it to him and watched as he cleaned his face with it.

Beth couldn't help herself as she leaned into him and licked the side of his face that was covered in her.

"You're killin me, babe."

Beth just held his eyes as she straddled his hips and slid down his hard cock.

"We've just started."

She smiled at him and raked her hands down his chest. His defined pecs and abs were another of her favorites.

Rio covered her hands with his own, "Now ride me like I know you want to."

He commanded with a smirk.

* * *

The next day, Beth comes home to find Dean unloading the kids from his van.

"Hey babies." She smiles at all of her kids. _Could have a whole soccer team with this bunch_ , she thinks.

"Kids, why don't you guys go on in and start your homework, I gotta talk to your mom about something."

Before, a phrase like this would make her eldest children excited. Would give them hope that their parents would maybe get back together, decide to be a family again. But after the kids have spent so much time with Rio and getting to know him, they don't really think of their Dad getting back together with their mom anymore. They love their dad but they like Rio. They're comfortable with him now. Him and their mom just make sense.

Beth watches as the last of her children amble in the house and she turns to look at her officially _ex_ -husband.

"What'd you want to talk about?"

Dean looks as though he's swallowed a lemon.

"The kids tell me mommy has a boyfriend."

She does her best not to roll her eyes. _This again?_

"And?"

His eyebrows go up, "And? He's having breakfast with our children!"

Beth gave him a bored look.

"We've been through this, Dean."

"I know. Look, it was one thing when you were bringing your boy toy over for... _stress relief_. But he's spending a lot of time with the kids. Kenny even asked me about _tattoos_ , for heaven's sake!"

Beth couldn't stop mentally laughing at boy toy. If Rio could hear that. A part of her kind of liked the idea of that though...

"He's a curious boy. I'm sure Rio isn't the first person that Kenny's ever seen with tattoos."

"That's not the point. This person is a criminal. He's a fucking thug in a gang! Having pancakes with our kids. I'm surprised he doesn't wear those knuckle dusters and wear gold caps on his teeth."

At this, Beth laughed out loud.

"All right, grandma, I think you've been watching too many episodes of Cops."

"He could bring danger in your house, Beth. To our kids. People in gangs have enemies. He might be ring leader to his own people but what about people who don't have allegiance to him, huh? People who want to hurt him where they know it counts. The people in his life. You. Our kids."

His somber words sobered Beth a little.

She sometimes forgot that Rio's gang wasn't the only one around them. They were in friggin' Detroit for crying out loud. She didn't know much about his world outside of washing his money.

It made Beth realize that she'd need to ask Rio if he really did have many enemies. Anyone that they'd need to be worried about. Rio had never mentioned things like that. Other than when he was using his ridiculous scare tactics about overthrowing the king. She knew he was referring to her in those cases but were there any other people interested in doing that?

"Beth?"

She blinked and his face came into focus.

"Rio is harmless to our kids. He sees them as his family. I would never put my kids in harm's way. We're fine."

Dean just looked at her.

Beth sighed, "I'll talk to Rio if I need to worry about any surprises. Happy?"

"I just want you all to be safe, Beth."

She stood in her drive way and watched him as he turned to get in his van and drove away.

* * *

"Guess what!"

The door to Beth's art studio slammed open and through it waltzed in Annie.

Beth was sitting in front of her easel trying to decide what to paint. She hadn't started a painting yet since Rio got all of these things for her. She was worried she had lost her talent with a paintbrush, her passion for the art. She was completely blocked.

She gave Annie an amused smile before looking back at the blank canvas.

"What?"

Annie's smile was stretched wide and her excitement was palpable.

"I got you your first commission!"

Beth laughed softly at her sister, "My what?"

Annie laid on the couch in the room. More like sprawled her body on it.

"A commission. From a Richie Rich at Sadie's new school. One of her class mate's Dad. I bumped into him when I was picking up Sadie and the Chatty Cathy felt the need to start talking at me. In the span of three minutes I learned that his name is Stewart, he drives a Lexus, he's a Capricorn, he has a shellfish allergy, his wife's name is Marla, he's the CEO of some company, and he's in need of an artist to paint a portrait."

Beth made a face, "A stranger told all of this to you? To another stranger?"

Annie laughed, "I know, right? Weird. I wasn't caring at all until he said he was looking for a talented artist. I told him my wonderful sister is a great painter and voila. His card."

She said as she produced a white business card from nowhere.

"He said to call him with a quote and that he'd love to hear from you."

Beth stared at the card.

"And he's fucking _loaded_. So give him a quote so high that it'll give you an O face. Odds are, he'll take it. He said he hasn't been able to find _anyone_. Dude's desperate, with money to burn."

Beth sighed.

"I don't know, Annie. I've been sitting here for almost an hour and I haven't been able to come up with a single idea."

Annie just scoffed, "Then this is perfect!

You need something to get your creative juices flowing. This requires almost no creativity. You're just looking at the guy and his family and putting their smug, rich faces on paper. It'll help you get out of this block you have and get you started on something straightforward."

"I guess it could get me back into the swing of things. But portraits are not easy. They have to look _just_ right or the client will be pissed or offended or just nit-pick everything and not be satisfied and not pay."

"If they don't pay you, you just bring Rio with you and have him scare the guy's pants off and his wallet open."

"Annie!"

"Kidding, kidding." Came her dry reply. _She was_ not _kidding._

"Just consider it. The worse thing that could happen is you go, paint, discover if portraits are your thing or not and make some money if they are. At the very least, you tell Richie Rich to fund the money for your supplies up front. So you don't lose anything."

Beth played with the card in her hands.

"I guess you're right. Who knows, it might even be fun. If he likes it, he might recommend me to some of his rich friends."

"There ya go!"

* * *

Beth called Stewart, her potential client, and they discussed her commission. She gave him an outlandish number and despite of it, the guy jumped at her price Stewart agreed to provide the canvas, paints, and brushes and anything else that she'd might need. He told her he wanted a tasteful, simple portrait done at his home. Nothing too fancy. All in all it sounded doable to Beth and she agreed on a time for them to meet and get started.

For the first time in a while, Beth was excited about something other than her new life of crime or her kids. She felt independent and like she had something all her own. Not Dean's, not her children's, not even Rio's. And that thrilled her.

When she met Rio at his house that night, she told him her news.

He invited her over for a meal that he'd made for her. Rio was an excellent cook. He danced around his kitchen and married ingredients together as if her were trying to seduce whomever he was cooking for. And it was working.

She sat on a stool at his island and watched him in his element. She admired the smooth planes of his strongback through the tight t-shirt he wore.

"Where you meetin the family?"

Rio asked from where he was standing in front of the stove.

"At their house."

He turned to look at her.

"What?" She asked as she took in his skeptical face.

"You're going to a stranger's home? By yourself?"

Beth laughed. She was never not amused over how cautious Rio got over the people close to him.

"To his family's home. To paint a picture. Of his _family_."

"And how'd you meet this guy?" His eyebrow raised.

Beth smiled fondly at him. He reminded her of a mom asking her daughter about her daughter's new date for a Friday night. It was adorable.

"He's a Dad at Annie's kid's school. Sadie's friends with his kid. He menruined to Annie that he was looking for someone to paint a portrait for him and she suggested me and got his card. I called him up. We landed on a commission price and a day to meet. We'll probably have to do it in multiple sessions."

Rio's brows joined together.

"To paint! You crazy man."

Rio turned back to his food.

"All right. Sounds good. What day?"

Beth could feel her face drop in confusion. Now Rio was all of a sudden cool as a cucumber?

"Saturday."

"Great. What time?"

"1 o clock."

He turned back to face her with a grin on his face.

"I'll pick you up at noon then."

Beth's eyes widened a little.

"What? Why?"

Rio sidled up beside her and planted a soft kiss to her lips.

"So we can go together."

"You wanna come with me? To paint a portrait of a family?"

Rio kissed her again and pulled back.

"Baby. This man could be crazy. This could be his way of luring beautiful women to his home and doing whatever he wants. No harm in me comin' with ya."

Beth laughed at the absurd picture she got from that.

"He's got kids."

Rio cocked a brow, "So? Doesn't mean nothin. Car Salesman had kids and he still turned out to be a creep. I know lots of men with kids and some of them are the lowest bastards I ever met."

Beth was saddened by that for a moment. Rio told her that he and his father had a great relationship before he died. He loved his dad and thought the world of him. She figured not every father the Rio knew was like that. Beth could say firsthand how she knew some men could be.

"If you want to come, I won't stop you. But it might make the family a little uncomfortable."

Rio almost pouted at her, "Why?"

She smiled, "Baby you know sometimes you're just too handsome for some people to handle."

Rio leaned in for a deep kiss.

"They'll get over it."

And he turned to shut the heat off.

The two of them sat down at his dining room table to eat together. Beth wasn't even ashamed to admit that Rio could probably teach her a thing or ten in the kitchen.

* * *

Saturday saw Beth and Rio driving in his car to Stewart's house.

"I'm a little nervous."

She said, randomly.

"'bout what?"

His fingers drummed the top of his steering wheel.

"This is the first time I've ever painted anything that someone is actually paying me for. The other times, I was just painting whatever I wanted. Never had to worry about someone else liking it because it wasn't _for_ anyone else. Just for me. And now. People are actually paying me. For something specific. What if I-"

"Nope. You're gonna nail it. The painting you showed me was bad ass. That took talent. All them fine details. You crushed it. And ya gonna crush this too. I got faith in you."

She looked over at him and could feel her eyes shining. Damn, he was good. His words gave her the motivation she needed.

They finally made it to the address Stewart gave her and they got out of the car.

Annie wasn't lying. This guy was weal _thy_.

Sprawling, gorgeous brick home with several peaks in the roof, a large double front door, a wide, long path from their drive way to the front door. Damn.

Beth was starting to wonder if she could double her fee. Never hurt to ask.

"I feel like Hannibal had a big home, too."

Came Rio's husky voice beside her.

She rolled her eyes and grinned at him.

Beth took his hand in hers and guided them to the door.

Rio knocked heavily on the door as Beth pushed the door bell.

She looked over at him.

"What? Ya gotta be loud."

She didn't have a chance to say anything as the door opened to reveal a man in his early forties, dark hair, deep brown eyes, a five o'clock shadow, with an olive skin tone. He looked to be about Rio's height and a little above average build. Overall the man was quite handsome. Annie failed to mention that part.

The before them smiled widely at Beth.

"Hello, you must be Beth."

He must be a quick study as he raised a hand to shake her hand that wasn't being held by Rio's.

She shook it politely before introducing herself and Rio.

"I hope I don't come across as rude but I had assumed that it would just be you coming by today."

"I come with her to her new clients' appointments when she goes to their houses. Ya never know, nowadays."

Rio said that last bit pointedly.

Beth put on her charming, professional smile.

"He's just a little protective. Is it alright that he joins us? You won't even know he's here."

Stewart looked only mildly nervous. Which piqued Rio's interest. He knew it. Can't trust a damned soul these days.

"Why don't we come on in. I may need to explain some things."

Well this was it. Where was his glock?

Beth had to squeeze Rio's hand in a death grip. She knew what his body language looked like when he was reaching for his gun.

She nearly drug them inside and they followed Stewart into the living room. The inside was just as gorgeous as the outside. If maybe just a tad too museum-like than what Beth would have preferred.

"Behave," she whispered in Rio's ear.

Stewart cleared his throat as he sat down on the couch. He motioned for Beth and Rio to sit on the couch in front of him.

"I don't mind at all. Whatever makes you two feel more comfortable."

 _That_ was what he needed to explain?

Rio thought, dubiously.

"Excellent!" Beth exclaimed, brightly.

Beth started to arrange her art supplies in the living room, "Are the rest of your family members still getting ready?"

"Oh uh, I thought I had mentioned that to your sister. It won't be a family portrait. Just a portrait of myself."

Beth and Rio had twin reactions of surprise.

"You want her to paint just _you_?"

 _Weird_.

Beth interjected quickly, "That won't be a problem at all!"

"Oh, before you set everything up, I was hoping we could paint in my bedroom."

Rio's scowl immediately made its way back on his face.

" _What_?"

"What?"

They both asked. Rio's might have been just a tad forceful.

Stewart looked between them.

"Will that be a problem?"

Beth grabbed a hold of Rio's hand again.

"I'm here to paint a picture of you. It's fine if you'd like us to paint it in your bedroom. As long as that's _all_ that happens in your bedroom."

Beth normally doesn't take comfort in the fact that Rio carries a gun with him everywhere he goes but in this instance, with this potential whack job, she is now.

Her and Rio follow Stewart into his bedroom.

She stops them for a moment.

"I'm just painting," she whispered.

Rio doesn't reply. Just gives her a face that clearly says, _this fuckin whack job._

He leans down for a kiss anyway.

"This fucker is doubling your fee."

She lets out a nervous laugh, "Oh yeah."

They continue following Stewart in the direction he went in and opened the door that he claimed as his bedroom.

And it took all of Beth's control not to slam the door closed again.

She stood in the doorway, her mouth agape.

"What the fuck?!"

Rio shouted beside her.

This time she practically had to throw herself at him to interfere with his hand going for his gun.

"Sweet heart, I'm sure he has an-, a uh,"

she had to look anywhere around the room except for at the naked man in front of them.

"-an explanation." Her voice squeaked.

There, in the middle of the bedroom, was Stewart. In all his naked glory. His unclothed penis hanging between his thighs as he stood in front of his bed.

Stewart was surprisingly unabashed for being naked in front of two complete strangers.

"That's what I wanted to explain. This is for a _nude_ portrait. I've always wanted one and figured now was as good of a time as any. I like my body the way it is and time won't be so forgiving forever."

While Beth couldn't bring herself to look at the naked man head on, Rio wasn't looking away from him. He didn't know whether to murder this lunatic or have him committed.

"Look I'll understand if this isn't what you signed up for and would like to leave."

Rio was about to do just that before Beth spoke up.

"You've hired me to paint a portrait of you. And that's what I'm going to do."

She said resolutely.

Rio gave her what she'd never admit to him was a fierce side-eye and Stewart flashed her a megawatt smile. _Heh, flashed_.

Before Rio could argue, Beth started setting up her stuff. Rio knew when she was determined and decided to at least make himself comfortable. So he spotted a chair in the large bedroom and sat down in it, knees splayed wide.

"Is there a, uh, _pose_ , that you'd like to get into?"

"I figured I'd let the pro guide me. What ever you think is best. You can shape my body however you feel would create the best angles and lighting."

 _Like a bad porno_ , Rio thought to himself.

Until he registered what was actually happening.

"Hell no," he said just before Beth was about to touch Stewart and place him in a position she liked.

Her hair twirled around her shoulders as she turned to look at Rio.

"What?"

Her hands were still in the air above Stewart's shoulders.

"You ain't gotta touch em to tell em how to pose."

She turned back to look at Stewart who surprisingly had the face of a trooper through all of this.

"He's right. I think I'll just stand in a relaxed pose and shift whenever you tell me to. Sound good?"

"Perfect!"

Beth said as she got behind her easel and started thinking about the colors she'd like to use.

She started sketching the man before her and congratulated herself on not letting the fact that her jealous boyfriend who was sitting behind her fiddling with his gun distract her.

She couldn't see him but Rio was sprawled on a chair behind them, eyes never leaving Stewart's and his gun blatantly sitting in his hands.

While a stark naked man stood in front of them as if he were posing for the next Captain America audition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing about commissioning art and all that jazz. I got the idea for this as soon as I thought of her painting and couldn't wait to write it. Hope you guys got a kick out of that nude scene.  
> And yes. The title is in quotes because it's supposed to be a metaphor for a stranger's peen. Cause I'm a nerd like that.


	21. Papí

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is actually kind of sad. I'm sorry. I hadn't intended to write something so sad but it was the only way that I could think of to fit this new development into the story. The sad part is after the first black line. If you'd like to skip it, you can read the end notes to see what happened in this chapter. I don't plan on writing anything like that again, just needed to introduce a new story line.

"Don't ever let Sadie go to Stewart's kid's house. Ever."

Annie gave her sister a weird look over the slice of pizza that she was holding in front of her face.

"What?"

Beth gave her a shuddering look before sighing heavily.

"That Stewart has a few screws loose."

After Beth explained her eventful painting session to her sister, she had to watch as Annie laughed herself to tears.

Beth glared at Annie.

"Ya done? I had to promise Rio what ever he wanted just to stop him from unloading his clip in Stewart."

This sobered Annie up a little, "Yeah, like I'm sure that's such a hardship for you with Mr. Hard Body."

Beth smiled a little.

"So I guess painting for Stewart's out."

Beth took a sip from her water bottle before setting it down on her coffee table.

"No, I'm going to finish the commission."

Annie gave her a wide-eyed look.

"Rio's coming with me to every session. It should only take about four or five more. I can do a lot of it here too from the sketches I've done. Even though he's a bit weird, he's a paying customer that's shelling out a lot for this piece. He even gave me some contacts for other people who are looking for paintings done."

"Oh man, you're gonna be gettin a lot of requests for nudes. That's what you'll be known for!"

Beth just rolled her eyes. At least she's learned from Stripper Stew. Always ask about the piece that'll be painted. ...and if it's actually a _piece_ that she'll be painting.

* * *

Rio reached for his phone as it began to ring. He was driving along the highway from a business meeting.

"Mijo?"

"Abuela, are you okay?"

His abuela's voice sounded off, not urgent but not as calm as it normally did.

"Mi amor, I think you need to come here when you can."

Rio could feel his lungs tighten.

"Are you hurt? Is someone there?"

He will fucking kill someone if they've hurt his abuela.

"There's someone here, my love. But they're the one that's hurt. I'll explain when you get here. Drive safely darling."

"Abuela. You remember where the gun is, right? I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm calling Carlos, he should be there before me. I'm about 45 minutes away. I'll see you in twenty."

Rosa just laughs, "Te amo, bébé."

As promised, Rio called Carlos on his way to Rosa's.

Rio sped down the highway. The worse the scenarios in his head became, the faster he drove.

By the time Rio got to Rosa's house, he could feel himself vibrating with tension. Whoever it was had better pray to God that they didn't hurt his abuela.

He walked through the front door and made his way into the living room when he didn't see anyone.

"Abuela?"

He found his grandmother holding a small boy as they both sat on her couch. He couldn't have been older than maybe three, four at the most.

"Hola, mijo," she said softly as she rocked the little boy in her arms.

Rio instantly noticed the bruise around the little boy's left eye. It was hiding underneath his mop of long, curly brown hair but Rio could see it clearly.

He glanced at Carlos who was sitting in one of Rosa's arm chair.

Rio crouched down in front of the little boy.

"Hola, papí."

The little boy looked at Rio with his big, round, dark brown eyes. His curly hair nearly hiding those too.

"Hola," came his tiny voice.

This close, Rio could see the bruise better. It mottled the young kid's caramel colored skin. The more Rio looked, the angrier he was getting. The little boy's bare arms were scarred with what looked to be cigarette burns. Some areas were old, some were fresh.

Rio thought he could taste bile coming up.

"My name is Rio. What's your name?" He asked quietly.

The little boy blinked at the tattooed man in front of him. He didn't want to get into trouble. He could feel Rosa hug him and hear her whisper, "It's okay, love, you're safe here."

"I'm Miguel."

Rio smiled softly at the kid.

"It's nice to meet you, Miguel. Are you hungry?"

Miguel's big brown eyes followed Rosa who smiled, "We ate a little bit ago."

"Okay."

Rosa kissed the top of Miguel's head and from there the three adults decided to let Miguel stay in the living room with Carlos while the kid watched cartoons. Rio followed Rosa into her kitchen.

"Who is that?"

Rio asked her quietly, careful not to let the boy in the other room hear.

Rosa sighed, "That beautiful baby is Miguel, he's one of my neighbors."

"And the eye? The burns?"

Rio was furious. He hated child abusers. Anyone monstrous enough to hurt a child deserved the worst.

Rosa's saddened look broke Rio's heart all over again.

"His father. Horrible man. He drinks. Miguel said his daddy hits him. Puts fire out on his arms." She was nearly in tears.

"Where is he?"

Rio's tone was as hard as steel.

"I don't know. His car isn't there. Miguel came to me about thirty minutes before I called you. Said his dad left him alone and that he was hungry. Poor baby knocked on my door, stomach growling. I've met his father a few times, mean as a snake that one. I've only seen Miguel a handful of times. I don't think he leaves the house often. I have no idea who looks after him when his father is gone. The poor thing's mother died when he was a baby."

Rio's blood boiled with every word.

"Okay."

"Rio?"

"It's okay, abuela. He'll be okay, he's safe now."

"My love, please be smart."

Rio hugged his grandmother before smiling at her, "I'm always smart."

He went to her freezer and grabbed a fudgecicle.

Rio went back to the living room where he found Miguel entranced by something on the TV.

"Miguel?"

Rio slowly sat down next to the kid on the couch.

Every time the kid looked at him with his big eyes and bruised face it broke Rio's heart and made him even angrier.

"Do you like chocolate?"

Miguel smiled shyly before nodding his head.

Rio opened the fudgecicle for him before handing it to the kid.

"I can have it?" He asked, almost sounding scared. He was never allowed to have sweet things at his house. His dad would always hit him if he touched something that wasn't his.

Rio did his best to smile at the kid, "Yup, it's all yours."

Miguel's little hand wrapped around the popcicle stick and brought it to his mouth.

"Thank you, sir."

Rio grinned at him, "You can just call me Rio."

Miguel was distracted by the chocolate, "Okay," he said simply.

"Hey buddy?"

Miguel was stilling licking his popcicle, "yeah?" Eyes never leaving it.

Rio swallowed thickly, "Did your dad give you those marks on your arm?"

Miguel was quiet for a long time before he slowly nodded his head, never looking at Rio.

"Am I in trouble?"

"No, little man. Not at all. You're safe here. Not in trouble, here."

"Okay," came his quiet reply.

Rio studied the kid some more. He was wearing a light blue tank top and dark grey shorts. From what he could see, the kid had various bruises all over his arms and shoulders, each one varying in shades of blue, purple and yellow. His skin marred with bruises, cuts, and circular burns. His legs not much better.

Rio's mind was made up. He already knew what Carlos was thinking.

Rosa took Miguel's hand and led him to a bedroom where she set him up for the night. She helped him brush his teeth with her spare toothbrush and tucked him in for bed. He asked her if he could spend the night and she happily obliged. She wasn't going to tell him that anything else wasn't even an option.

Rosa loved her grandson very much and knew how he felt about children and those who hurt them. She only hoped that Rio knew how to handle the situation properly. Her baby boy had no business going to prison. If need be, she'd kill Miguel's father herself. No monster like that should be free to roam the streets.

She walked back into the living room to find another one of her grandson's friends standing there.

"Hola, dear!" She hugged his neck.

"Hola, abuela." They all called her that. Once Carlos started it, everyone just followed suit. Leave it to a little elderly Latina woman to be the gang grandma.

He bent down so she could kiss his cheek.

"So nice to see you."

"Abuela, Carlos is going to stay here, okay?"

"And you, love?" She eyed her grandson.

"We'll be careful, promise."

"Be smart, Rio."

When they were in the kitchen she had told him where Miguel's father worked. His name was Anthony and he worked in a rough neighborhood at a laundromat downtown.

She walked over to him and held her hands out.

He bent down for her as well and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Love you."

She pinched his cheek, "Te amo, love."

Rio nodded at Carlos where he sat before him and one of his guys walked out the door.

"Are you hungry, sweet heart?" Rosa asked Carlos.

He grinned at her, "Always."

With that, the two of them made their way to her kitchen. If her grandson was going to do what she thought he was doing, she needed to take her mind off of it. Cooking it was.

* * *

Rio and the man who worked for him, Malik, drove in Malik's dark blue sedan. They drove down to where Anthony worked. It was a long shot but Rosa told Rio what Anthony's car looked like so they knew what to look for. Rio broke into the man's home and found an old drivers license with Anthony's picture and his full name. If he was at his work, they'd tail him and see what they could do. Rio was banking on a clean drive by. One target, one shot, drive away. Simple.

Sure enough, when they drove past the laundromat, the car was in the back parking lot. Rio had Malik park his car in the shadows a little ways from the laundromat and there they waited.

They didn't have to wait long before the lights were turned off and a man was seen locking up the place. In the view of the streetlamp, it was obvious that it was Anthony.

They watched him as he walked to his car and followed his movements.

In a fluid motion it all happened at once. Malik picked up speed driving past Anthony's car, the window rolled down and a shot rang out from the passenger side's door. After the shot came Anthony's collapsed body on the pavement before his car.

Malik's car drove down the street noiselessly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rosa calls Rio to come to her house. When he does, he finds a three year old boy named Miguel. Miguel is Rosa's neighbor who was being abused by his single father. The little boy knocks on Rosa's door after being left alone by his father. Rio falls for the kid, hears how abusive the dad is, and arranges the father's death. The father truly deserves it after how badly he treated Miguel. Drive by shooting happens. Probably VERY unrealistic but hey, give a girl a break. Sorry that it's dark and morbid but hey, we get a cute kid out of it, yay!


	22. Lo siento, mi amor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies! I'm so sorry for having fallen off the face of the earth for the last four months. I deserve to be kicked in the shins for my absence. If anyone is still interested, I really hope you like it. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to proceed with the new kid plot but the more I wrote him with Rio, the more I fell in love with it. Yes, it's unrealistic. But hey, it's fiction!

"How are we going to tell him?"

Rosa asked her grandson as they sat in the kitchen early the next morning, two cups of steaming coffee in front of them.

"What? That his abusive father can't hurt him anymore?"

Rosa sighed sadly, "That he'll never see the only family he's ever known again."

Rio stayed quiet.

He didn't regret killing Anthony. Fucker's lucky that all he got was a drive-by shooting. Rio would have gladly drawn it out. But he couldn't afford to get sloppy. He had a family he needed to think about now and he would be of no good for them behind bars. Still, he relished in the sound of Anthony's heavy body collapsing to the concrete. _Welcome to hell, asshole._

Rio looked up and had to keep himself from laughing. It was as if his abuela could read his mind as he saw her draw her hand from her head, down to her chest, and to her shoulders in a cross formation.

"Anthony may have deserved what he got but now there is a little boy in the next room who has no family now. No parents. _No one_."

Rio rubbed the rim of his coffee cup.

"Not true," he said quietly.

Their eyes met, "He has me."

Rosa smiled softly at her grandson before she grabbed his hand.

"For how long?"

Rosa knew her grandson's heart was in the right place but she worried about the stability for Miguel now.

Rio's jaw clicked before he relaxed,

"Kid needs a family, a home? Well he's got one. I gotta lawyer. Good ones. Kid's an unexpected orphan. I'll adopt him."

* * *

_The deceased victim's name was Anthony Sanchez, 34. Body found in the parking lot of a downtown laundromat at 07:21 this morning. Cause of death believed to be a gunshot to the chest. No leads at this time._

Beth shook her head at the news. What a tragedy, she thought.

She looked down at her phone to see Rio calling.

"Hey, sweetie."

"I can't make it to dinner tonight."

Beth blinked, a little surprised.

"Oh, okay. Is everything alright?"

They had plans to stay the night in and cook together. He was a man of many talents and his love for food was one of the many things she loved about him.

She began to worry when Rio didn't answer her.

"Rio?"

"Im here. Yeah, everything's fine. I gotta run some errands today and it might run late. Didn't want you to wait up for me."

Beth grew silent at that. Rio hadn't been so evasive since the truck disaster.

"Errands?"

She could hear Rio sigh through the phone and relaxed somewhat when he sounded like he was breathing out a laugh.

"I promise, nothing bad mama. Just something came up."

She sat back against her couch and mulled over what it could be. Beth was learning to trust Rio and she knew he had a business before she ever came along. She had to trust him that if it were anything too serious or dangerous that he'd tell her.

"Okay, I'll see you later then. I love you."

"Love you."

* * *

Rio hung up the phone.

By this time, Rio was there for Miguel when he woke up that morning. Told Rosa that she could relax while he cooked the three of them breakfast. Rio and Miguel sat down side by side while they ate French toast in silence.

Rio had quietly asked him if he liked syrup and he could feel his heart squeeze when the little boy said that his dad didn't let him have it.

Suffice to say that Miguel got as much syrup as his sweet little heart wanted.

_"Would you like to stay here for a few nights, buddy?"_

_Rio still had no regrets but his grandmother had a point. He now had to tell the kid that his bastard of a dad was gone and that everything he was used to would change now. But at least the kid would never be abused again. Ever._

_Sweet kid didn't deserve this._

_"Can I?" Miguel's tiny voice asked._

_Rio flashed him a warm smile, "Of course, papí."_

_He couldn't help but watch as the kid went back to eating his breakfast as if it were made of gold. Poor kid obviously wasn't used to eating as much as he wanted._

_Rio's mind was already settled. As long as Miguel was okay with it, the kid would stay with Rio. He was his responsibility now. He knew Rosa would love to have Miguel here for as long as need be. Rio had already thought about the things that he'd need to buy for Miguel. The boy could stay with his abuela while Rio got his room ready and get everything in order._

"Was that your mom?" came Miguel's little voice from Rio's side.

Rio couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Nah little man."

He looked down to see Miguel excitedly stab his fork into another piece of French toast, question already forgotten.

Rio watched him as he ate when he realized that he'd need to know what the kid liked. Sure, he was only four but he had to have some things he enjoyed.

"Little man, what's your favorite color?"

"Green."

The older man smiled, "Favorite tv show?"

Miguel kept eating for a moment before he replied, "I can't watch a lot, I like Paw Patrol."

Rio was pensive, thinking about all the things that Anthony must not have let his kid have and do. He vowed not to be that withholding to Miguel.

"Anything else you like?"

Miguel thought for a few seconds before peering his large, dark brown eyes up to Rio, shaggy, curly brown hair in his face, "I like dinosaurs." He told Rio quietly.

Miguel must have liked the smile on Rio's face because the boy smiled back.

And that was the scene that Rosa walked in on; Rio smiling softly at a boy that she could tell had already stolen her grandson's heart.

* * *

Carlos and Rio were out shopping for everything that he thought Miguel might need. The hilarity of the moment was not lost on Carlos. Two scary looking men pushing a cart full of Paw Patrol bedding and toys, dinosaur stuffed animals, and pictures to decorate a little boy's room.

Carlos pushed the cart as Rio grabbed everything within his reach that Miguel might like. He had asked the boy what he liked to play with, what stories he liked, what his favorite animals were, etc.

The bulkier of the two men looked up in time to see Rio holding a children's activity book filled with dinosaurs and a handful of bedtime stories. One of which read _Wide-Awake Bear._ With a picture of an awake baby bear being curled up by a bigger, sleeping bear.

If he thought he could be slick about it, Carlos would have taken a picture.

Rio simply tossed it all in the cart and marched on.

Eventually they had to adopt a second cart for all of Miguel's clothes. He took a look at the sizes that Miguel had on and went from there. Rio was only going to buy some essetials to get the kid started and then take the boy out shopping to let him pick out some more stuff that he liked, like shoes, jackets, hats.

By the time the two men made it to check out, Carlos spoke up,

"If you had found Miguel earlier maybe Toys R Us wouldn't have gone outta business."

Rio just shot him a look before paying for everything.

"Look at it this way, now Lina has a new cousin," Carlos said with a big grin.

* * *

Rio and Carlos drove to Rio's place to unload everything in Miguel's new room. He had some of his men set up the furniture he had ordered for Miguel. A sturdy new bed for him to grow into, a set of drawers for his clothes, two small, light green end tables on either side of his bed, matching light green book shelves for the many books he bought.

His guys were finishing building the bed when he walked in.

"Looks good," Rio said as he started organizing the books on the shelves.

Carlos took all the new clothes and put them in the washing machine. He only smiled to himself when he noticed that Rio had picked up laundry detergent for sensitive skin. _"Kid might need it,"_ was all Rio said at the time.

* * *

After Miguel's new room was completely set up and move in ready, Rio dismissed his men and drove over to his abuela's house.

He walked in to the scent of something sweet baking in the kitchen.

Miguel was sitting at the kitchen table eating a brownie, his small legs swinging in the air under the table.

Rio gave his grandma a kiss on the cheek.

"You two have a nice day today?"

"Oh yes love, Miguel told me he loved brownies so we whipped up some batches. He's quite the little baker."

She said as she soothingly ran her hand through the child's curly brown hair.

"You want one?" Miguel asked Rio politely as he handed one to the older man.

Rosa didn't think she could love the kid any more but he was proving her wrong with everything he did. He was so precious it made her heart melt.

"Gracias, mijo."

"De nada," the boy replied before going back to his brownie.

Rio pulled out a chair beside Miguel and sat down next to the boy.

"Papí? How do you feel about staying with me for a while?"

Miguel turned to look at Rio. He didn't look scared, only curious. He liked Rio, he had been nice to him so far. He liked the pictures on his skin. They reminded him of neat drawings he had seen in book once.

"Will daddy be mad?"

Rio thought this was going to be easier. He wasn't sure why but he didn't think it was going to be this hard to explain to the child that the man who had beaten him so much could never hurt him again. But his abuela was right. To Miguel, that monster was his father, the only family he knew. And now he was supposed to tell this little boy that his father was dead?

"No mijo, he won't be mad. Your father...",

Rio looked up at his abuela. He wasn't going to lie to the boy. It was better to start off with as much of the truth as possible. He was only four. Rio wasn't sure how much of death the boy understood. He didn't want to let the boy believe that his father could ever come back, even if that was what the kid really wanted or not.

"I'm sorry Miguel, but he won't be coming back. He was in an accident."

The boy had gone back to looking down at his plate before he turned with sad eyes back to Rio.

"He's gone?"

Rio only nodded. Rosa went up to Miguel's other side and pulled the child into a wordless hug.

"Lo siento, mi amor," she whispered to the child.

Rio watched quietly, waiting for the boy's reaction. He just pressed his little face into Rosa's apron and hugged her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now Rio has a little boy that he magically can adopt since both of his parents are dead. In magical fictional land, Rio can adopt Miguel with no fuss. Ta da!
> 
> Please tell me what you think.


	23. Fatherhood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas!!

Miguel cried the first night after he learned about his father.

Rio and his abuela decided that he and Miguel should stay one more night with Rosa just in case Miguel needed her maternal affection. And they were right.

Rio instantly woke up to Miguel's whimpering and crying noises from his bedroom. He went to Miguel's door and walked in to see the little boy sobbing in his bed.

Through his crying Rio honestly couldn't tell if Miguel was crying over his father being gone or simply over what his father had done to the boy.

He scooped the boy up in a hug and held him as the two sat on the bed together.

Rosa had heard the crying and whispering. She stood in the doorway watching as her grandson rocked the little boy. She could hear Rio speaking softly in Spanish to Miguel.

There weren't very many times in her life that she agreed with Rio's methods to solving problems but she found herself grateful for what he did to the boy's father. This didn't seem like Miguel's first time waking up in tears, he seemed almost panicked.

* * *

The following morning Rio woke up curled around Miguel's sleeping form. He had fallen asleep whispering anything soothing that he could think of to relax Miguel.

Rio tried his best to move off of the bed without waking the little boy up. As he looked up he saw his grandma standing in the doorway watching them. She had a small smile on her lips.

Rio turned back to the boy and pulled a blanket over his little sleeping body.

The two of them walked out of the room with one more glance at Miguel.

They sat in her living room in front of the morning news when Rosa finally broke the silence.

"You're going to make a wonderful dad to that little boy."

Rio just sighed before scrubbing a hand over his face. He hoped that it wasn't all going to be too much for Miguel all at once.

* * *

Beth's day had passed uneventfully into the night that Rio had told her he had errands to run and couldn't meet her for dinner. The next morning finally came and she checked her phone wondering hopefully if Rio had called or texted her throughout the night.

She wasn't normally so eager to hear from him but his evasiveness had her just a little worried. He wasn't someone who had a regular 9 to 5 office job. His line of work was a dangerous one. He had enemies. He never left home without at least one gun on his person. Men who do that didn't have ordinary lives. Violence would always be a part of it. And look at the area they lived in, for goodness sake. A poor man couldn't even go to the laundromat without getting shot in the chest.

Beth tried not to worry. She really did. So she threw herself into her commission. Of Stripper Stew's portrait.

She sat in her art room in front of her easel trying to mix the colors that she needed to paint with. She had her sketches of Stewart's naked form clipped to her easel to have references to work off of. She was just about to connect paint to easel when she heard a soft voice say,

"Mommy, where are that man's clothes?"

Beth couldn't contain her laughter. She whirled around her stool and spun her daughter to look away from her drawings.

"He must've lost em, sweetie."

"How come I don't have one of those?" Came her next question.

This time Beth's laugh could have been heard throughout the house.

She directed her youngest daughter downstairs and to the kitchen where she started making breakfast for her babies.

It all served as a good distraction from the fact that she still hadn't heard from Rio.

* * *

Rio didn't realize that he was nervous about taking Miguel to his new home until they got there and Miguel walked around his new room. Miguel looked at his new bed with the cool looking Paw Patrol characters and the neat pictures of his favorite animals and dinosaurs all over the walls.

He turned to look at Rio with a wide smile on his face.

"This is my room?"

He asked shyly, almost as if he couldn't believe it yet.

Rio gave him an assuring smile, "Yep, all yours."

Miguel walked over to his bookshelf and reached for a book that he wasn't quite tall enough to get to yet. The spine had a picture of a lion on it and he loved lions. Rio helped him out with it and sat on the bed with Miguel next to him.

"Will you read it to me?" He quietly asked, his brown eyes working their puppy dog magic already.

It didn't take long until Rio found himself acting out the noises of every animal mentioned in the book.

He was in the middle of doing a badass bear impression when his phone started to ring.

It took him a few extra seconds to answer it because it was the first time he had seen Miguel laugh. He was giggling at Rio's animal noises and Rio wanted to keep making him laugh.

He saw that it was Beth and picked up,

"Hey," he answered as he flipped through the pages so that Miguel could see all of the illustrations.

"Hey, how was your night last night?"

Rio knew she had every right to be curious. He just didn't know how to tell her that he had suddenly become an insta-dad. She'd have questions, naturally. She'd want to know where Miguel came from, where his parents are, and why he was suddenly in Rio's care.

He wasn't ashamed of being responsible for Miguel now nor did he regret it all. But he'd have to tell her about Anthony and that wasn't going to be the easiest thing to explain.

"It was good. Busy." He shuffled the book onto Miguel's lap and let him look through the glossy pages. He may not be able to read yet but he liked the pictures.

"You have any plans for today?" Beth asked.

Rio looked down at Miguel, "Yeah. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Ut-oh," Beth said as she tried to laugh off how ominous he sounded.

"Some things came up and we should talk." He knew he was being evasive but it wasn't something he wanted to tell her over the phone.

He didn't hear Beth say anything for a few more seconds, "You still there?"

"Yeah. Is it anything bad?"

"Nah, you wanna meet somewhere for lunch and we'll talk about it?"

"Sure."

They decided on a restaurant and a time to meet.

Rio helped Miguel pick out a new outfit to wear. He loved the neat blue and green shoes that Rio picked out for him.

"You hungry, mijo?"

"Yeah," he said as he wiggled his foot in his new shoe.

"We're gonna go and get something to eat. I have a friend that I want you to meet. Would that be okay?"

He really didn't want to overwhelm the kid with meeting so many new people but he figured he might as well get the most important thing done with. Introducing Miguel to Beth. He and Rio were a package deal now and she had to know about him. Rio knew Beth would love Miguel, it was in her nature.

Rio could feel Miguel grow a little more nervous than before, "You won't leave?"

Rio smiled at him, "Of course not, you're stuck with me. She's really nice."

The promise of Rio not leaving him seemed to ease Miguel's nerves.

"Okay," the child said simply.

* * *

Rio and Miguel arrived at the restaurant early as they lived closer to it. The two of them picked a table and on their way to it he saw a familiar face: Carlos's wife, Paloma.

The two of them sat down and Paloma walked up to their table.

"Hola Rio!" Paloma was so kind and friendly, her smile warm as she greeted them. She was good for Carlos.

"Hey Paloma," Rio answered kindly. He looked to Miguel who was looking at Paloma curiously.

"Miguel, this is Paloma. Do you remember Carlos? He is married to Paloma. She's very nice, like Carlos."

Miguel blinked up at her again, small smile in place, "Hello."

Miguel definitely got even quieter in front of strangers.

Paloma's smile turned gentle as she crouched in front of him, "Hello, Miguel. How are you, today?"

The boy's smile got a little wider as he answered her. Rio was about to ask Paloma how Lina was doing when he saw Beth walking up to their table.

Paloma turned to see Beth's confusion and she made her goodbyes to Rio. She turned her attention back to Miguel, "It was nice to meet you, darling."

She smiled at Beth as she walked back to her table where her friends were sitting.

Beth's eyes couldn't help but follow the woman as she left. She was gorgeous. Dark brown wavy hair, caramel colored skin, bright smile. Her attention was brought back to the table in front of her when she remembered seeing a tiny boy sitting next to Rio.

She was met with twin stares from the table. Rio's assessing gaze and Miguel's shy, curious one.

Beth smiled sweetly at the young child before pulling a seat across from the two.

"Hi, my name is Beth." She spoke to Miguel directly.

Miguel blinked at her once, "I'm Miguel," came his shy response.

Beth looked at Rio questioningly.

She wished she had telepathic powers right now because a slew of things were running through her head right now.

1\. She has just met Rio's son. Rio has an adorable son. One that he's never told her about. And here he sits.

2\. Where is Miguel's mom? Is she still in the picture?

3\. Who the hell was that woman?

4\. What the hell is going to happen now?

Since she wasn't blessed with the gift of telepathy, she tries to convey her thoughts to Rio through her eyes.

And it must work because Rio readjusts himself in his seat as calmly as ever, the bastard, and starts to explain.

"Miguel, this is Beth. She's the one I wanted you to meet today. She's really nice." He spoke softly to the boy at his side.

His warm eyes met hers before he continued, "This is Miguel, he's going to be living with me from now on."

He and Miguel had already talked about it and the boy understood that he'd be living with Rio in his new room. He knew that his father was gone and he knew that he really liked Rio. He was nice and he made funny noises when he read to Miguel. He was happy to stay with someone like that.

Beth tried not to widen her eyes too much in surprise, her mouth in a small o shape.

"Miguel was my abuela's next door neighbor. His father had an accident and I'm going to be taking care of him from now on. He's already met Carlos and the woman just now was Carlos' _wife,_ Paloma."

He made sure to emphasize that Paloma was Carlos' wife after he saw how Beth looked at Paloma when she left.

"Oh."

Rio left it at that for now as he grabbed a menu and raised it for him and Miguel to look at together. He asked Miguel what kinds of foods he liked and ordered for them both when the waitress arrived.

Beth stared at the two.  If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn that they were actually father and son.

She knew how good Rio was with her kids but the way he was with Miguel was different, more paternal, protective; as if the little boy really was his own child.

Then she realized what Rio had said earlier. That Miguel's father had an "accident". And that he'd be staying with Rio from now on. How does that even happen?

* * *

 

"I know. You have some questions," Rio said later that day.

They were sitting on Rosa's porch. Miguel was inside while he talked things over with Beth.

Beth's face went through a series of emotions. Shock over the fact that it seemed as though Rio has suddenly adopted a little boy. Confusion as to why and _how_. And she was beyond curious to know what happened to Miguel's family.

"I don't even know where to start," she began.

Rio sighed.

"Look. Miguel came over to my abuela's house scared and beaten. He was left alone. He had an abusive asshole of a father and his mother's been dead for a while. His living situation was a nightmare. So now," he paused. He was going to avoid the subject of Anthony for as long as he could. If she didn't bring it up, he wouldn't. He wanted to put that bastard behind them all and not look back.

"Now, it's better. It's rough for him right now, kid's been through a lot. But it's better than what he had."

Beth's heart squeezed in her chest as she listened. She remembered seeing the faint bruises on Miguel. It made sense now. She had a feeling she knew what Rio's next answer would be but she couldn't stop herself from asking anyways.

"Had?"

Rio looked at her, his eyes soft.

"You said he _had_ an abusive father."

Rio looked down at the porch floor and inhaled deeply before letting it out. He looked back up at her. He didn't want to say the words. He wouldn't. For all he cared, he didn't want to acknowledge that man ever again. He kept an ear out for any leads on the murder. It was a clean drive by. But he'd make sure that no one suspected him and if anyone ever did, he'd worry about it then.

For now, he was only thinking about the kid and what was best for him.

"Yeah."

They held eye contact for several seconds.

Beth understood though. She knew what Rio wasn't saying and she really didn't care. If that boy's father was abusing him, then so be it. She knew Rio would never senselessly murder someone without a good reason.

So she let it go unspoken.

Beth nodded once and grabbed his hand with one of her own.

Silence carried on for another minute before she finally spoke up.

"He's awfully cute." She said quietly, a small smile on her lips.

Rio lifted one corner of his mouth in a half smile, grateful that she didn't push any further.

"Yeah."

"Does this mean you're going to try and adopt him now?"

Rio nodded quietly.

"He said he'd like to stay with me for now. I've got his room set up at my place. I'm gonna do what I need to to get things in order."

Beth looked at him, she could tell there was more that he wasn't saying.

She squeezed his hand lightly.

Rio sighed again.

"You think you can handle our family getting bigger?"

Beth smiled fully that time and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Your family is my family."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will probably me my last chapter before the new year so I hope you all enjoyed it. I know I sound like a beggar but I'm so not above that, I'd love to hear what you all think of the new chapters. Please let me know!


	24. Ice cream & Animals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I really wanted to lay down a rich foundation for Miguel before I started refocusing on Beth and Rio. So next chapter will definitely have more of them in it together. I have a feeling that this story may be coming to an end soon. Not sure how soon but I do know how I want it to end. I’m just not quiiiite ready to end it yet. And obviously I gotta add at least one more Carlos&Annie chapter. Thank you so much for putting up with my long gaps in updates.

Things between Beth and Rio carried on as normal as before. Except now, Miguel was as much a part of Beth's life as her own kids were.

They started things out gradually. First, it was Beth meeting Miguel for the first time at lunch that first day. He warmed up to her pretty quickly. She was always kind to the boy and he liked that. After a few more visits, her and Rio felt that it was time to bring Miguel around her kids. Rio spent so much time at her house and he wasn't about to not bring Miguel with him when he'd go to Beth's.

Miguel meeting all of Beth's kids started out slowly. They started with her youngest and one by one they all welcomed Miguel with open arms.

Rio wasn't going to admit that he was nervous about it. He didn't want to overwhelm the young boy but it seemed like he was taking it all in stride.

Some nights were still pretty bad, though.

Rio would hear Miguel's soft cries on some nights and he'd lay with Miguel until the morning came.

It was nights like those that made Rio regret how quick Anthony’s death was. Rio would have loved for the bastard to have suffered more. But he understood that careless acts like that couldn’t be made any longer. Not when he had a kid of his own to care for now.

* * *

It was a Saturday and Beth was busy making lunch for her kids. Rio and Miguel were spending the afternoon at Carlos’ home letting Miguel get to know Carlos’ daughter, Lina.

Beth couldn’t help but think about how close Miguel was already getting with each of her own kids. Her youngest, Emma, took to Miguel like glue. She was kind and patient with him. With them being the closest in age it was a natural friendship.

As for her other children, they all loved to spoil Miguel and see him laugh and smile. Beth couldn’t be prouder of her kids and happier that they all seemed to be getting along so well.

The only thing that Beth couldn’t stop thinking about was that Miguel didn’t seem to be warming up to her as well as he was with the other people in his life. He was calling Rosa _abuela_  and growing more and more chatty with Rio. The two of them had become almost like partners in crime and Beth didn’t think it could be any cuter than it already was.

But every time Miguel was left alone with Beth, he became shy and quiet; saying no more than one or two words to her at a time. She didn’t want to push the little boy but she wondered if she had done something to make him so quiet around her.

Beth watched as her kids ate in the kitchen and thought about how she could help Miguel feel more comfortable around her.

* * *

Miguel adored his new cousin, Lina. The two of them were playing in Carlos’ living room floor. Coloring books and painting sets and all sorts of toys scattered around them.

Rio watched as the two of them carried on. Of all the kids that Miguel had met, he could tell that Lina was Miguel’s favorite. She seemed to be able to get him out of his shell the most. She could speak Spanish so the two of them spoke to each other in both English and Spanish and damn if that didn’t make Rio a proud papa.

”Uncle Rio?”

He heard from the floor.

”Yes, sweetie?”

Rio looked into Lina’s large brown eyes and knew what was coming. He could always tell by the sweet look on her face and how she always made her eyes big and round.

She blinked her eyes twice and asked, “Can I paint your nails?”

Rio laughed quietly but stuck his hand out.

Lina beamed up at him and grabbed his favorite nail polish color. Yep, he had a favorite. Purple looked great on him. And no one ever had the nerve to say a damn thing to him if they ever saw him wear it. Half of them were no better, letting Lina paint their nails to her heart’s desires.

He turned his head to the feeling of gentle tugging on his shirt.

”Rio?” Came Miguel’s soft, little voice.

He smiled gently at the little boy.

“Yeah, baby?”

At this Miguel thrust up a blue bottle of nail polish at him.

”Can I put this on your nails, too?”

He had perfected the puppy look with his big amber eyes.

And just like that, Rio melted all over again.

And that’s how he wound up with two small children holding each of his hands in their two smaller ones and had blue nails on one hand and purple on the other. Like a man.

* * *

“Do you think I scare Miguel?”

Rio looked at his woman and didn’t bother to stop the laugh that came out.

”Rio, I’m serious!” Beth exclaimed as she hit his shoulder.

He exhaled a big breath, “Of course I don’t think that. Is that what you think?”

Beth was quiet and just stared at her hands in her lap. They were laying on her couch as the kids were upstairs playing.

”Babe?”

Beth turned to look at him, “He just looks so scared every time he and I are alone together. When I ask him questions he gets so quiet and talks at the floor.”

Rio stared at her for a moment, thinking back on all the times that they were all together. Yeah, maybe Miguel wasn’t the most talkative with Beth but he wouldn’t have ever thought that the boy was scared of her.

Beth broke the silence, “Maybe red hair scares him.”

His answering laugh earned him another punch.

* * *

 “Mijo?”

Rio said to the little boy at his side. He and Miguel were in his kitchen at the dining room table making home made pizzas together. The young boy loved to smear the sauce on the mini pizza dough and sprinkle cheese on it.

His little tongue poked out at he concentrated on lining the pepperoni just right on his pizzas.

”Yeah?” He asked, eyes not leaving his culinary art.

Miguel was met with silence. He looked up at Rio to find the older man aiming his phone at him. Rio has taken about 6 quick pictures of Miguel making pizza. His phone was quickly filling up with similar pictures. He looked so cute with his tongue out, face frozen in concentration. He caught a good one with Miguel smiling up at him with sauce on his hands.

Rio put his phone down.

”What do you think about me, you, and Beth going to the zoo together? Just the three of us?”

Miguel smiles widely at him, “okay. I love animals.” He was already thinking about the different ones he might get to see in person.

“And before that I thought you and Beth might like to get some ice cream together while I’m at work.”

Miguel’s big, soft eyes looked up at him and his hands stopped laying down pepperoni.

The two looked at each other for a quiet moment, “Would that be okay?”

Miguel blinked up at him once before glancing down at his pizzas.

”Yeah,” he said softly. His tone changed to something resembling how he used to sound when Rio first met him.

”Are you sure? If you want to talk about anything, you can.”

Miguel looked back up at him, “Does she like me?”

He asked in a tiny voice.

Rio was caught off guard. His eyebrows lifted somewhat, “oh mijo, she loves you, and she loves spending time with you. The zoo and ice cream were her ideas.”

Rio watched Miguel’s face and nearly let out a sigh of relief when he saw Miguel’s face slowly lift to a small smile.

The young boy smiled up at him, his little legs kicking back and forth under his chair.

”Okay.” He said as he went back to finishing up his pizzas.

Older people sometimes scared the little boy. Some of Anthony’s friends weren’t always nice to the boy. He liked Rio and Carlos and his abuela but he was still a little shy around Beth. But he loved ice cream and animals and none of Anthony’s friends ever wanted to do that with the boy. So if Beth wanted to do that with him then maybe she did like him.

* * *

Beth watched the little boy from her side of the small red table in the ice cream shop. It was a little hole in the wall that she loved bringing her kids to. Best ice cream in town and all of it home made.

She couldn’t help but smile to herself as she watched Miguel lick the side of his hand as the ice cream started to melt and drip down it. She could see how Rio fell so hard for the boy.

Big, soft brown eyes flashed to her and his little pink tongue went back inside his mouth.

”Sorry,” came the shy voice.

Beth laughed quietly as she brought a napkin to Miguel’s hand and mouth.

”It’s all right honey, ice cream’s messy.” She said as she made a show of licking a huge spot from her ice cream cone, getting it all over her lips.

Miguel’s soft laughter filled the small ice cream shop.

The two sat together while they finished their giant ice cream cones; unaware that Rio had been standing by one of the windows outside looking in, proud smile on his face.

* * *

 “What do you wanna see first, little man?” Rio asked the little boy who was sitting on his shoulders.

Miguel’s tiny hands were perched on top of Rio’s head, fingers sliding in his shortly cropped hair.

”Giraffes?”

”Giraffes it is.”

And that’s how a housewife-turned-criminal and a violent gang leader found themselves being led around an entire zoo by a four year-old.

Where ever Miguel wanted to go next, they went. He made both his adults smile when he’d randomly ask, _now where do_ you _guys wanna go?_

They stopped by the giraffes first and Rio took about 13 pictures of Miguel petting two giraffes’ heads and his little hand getting licked by a mischievous giraffe.

Miguel led the way with his request to see the lions next and merrily walked away with his face painted to make him look like a lion.

They wound around the zoo to see the monkies, zebras, sloths, bears, and Beth’s favorite: the tigers.

That one was her favorite because as soon as they got there Miguel spotted another face painter who specialized in tiger faces. So naturally they heard Miguel ask Rio,

”Ya wanna be a tiger?”

Well. Who was he to say no?

Rio glanced at Beth to see her doing her best not to laugh.

So with all the swagger and bravado in the world, Rio marched to the face painter and sat down to have his face painted.

”Make me look ferocious.”

He told her as he watched Miguel slip his hand inside of Beth’s as they watched Rio transform into a ferocious feline.

* * *

 

The three of them stayed until closing time. They walked out as night fell and Rio carried the young boy in his arms to the car. He buckled Miguel up in his car seat and softly stroked his forehead with his hand. He loved Miguel’s long curly hair as it reminded Rio of his mom’s.

He walked around to his side of the car and got in.

It wasn’t until he cranked the car that he noticed Beth looking at him, smile fond and eyes soft.

He smirked at her like he knew a secret that she didn’t.

”What?”

She smiled wider, “nothing.”

Rio leaned in to kiss her red lips.

”Thank you. For today.”

She kissed him back before biting down on his bottom lip.

”You don’t have to thank me, I’m glad we did this.”

They shared one last kiss before Rio left the zoo’s parking lot, Beth’s hand in his.

* * *

 

Beth had left her car at Rio’s house to pick Miguel up and had driven herself home once the three of them got back to Rio’s.

She had helped Rio get Miguel into the house without waking the boy up.

After she was gone Rio went back into Miguel’s room and sat on his bed, tucking his blanket around him. He had a warm rag in his hand and he gently cleaned the paint from Miguel’s face.

Miguel moved in his sleep before his sleepy brown eyes opened. He looked at Rio sleepily for a few seconds before closing them again.

”G’night daddy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’all know I had to!  
> ...too soon? Maybe. But whatevs.
> 
> Also. Holy cheese and crackers! When he said, “I’m gonna teach you” after he moved her hair. Ugh. I swooned. Hard.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments = love


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